When The Rain Pours In
by When The Tide Comes In
Summary: Emma returns to the Gold Coast only to find everything she'd left behind has changed, including her friends. Rikki and Cleo seem to have found a new best friend in strange, secretive Bella, Lewis is caught in a custody battle for his infant daughter, and mermaids apparently aren't the only magical creature on the coast anymore. Can Emma ever get back the life she left behind? R&R.
1. Chapter 1

1.

The highlight of Emma Gilbert's summer was going to be surprising Cleo and Rikki with her arrival home.

It was the one thing she couldn't stop thinking about, and planning down to the very last detail, when her mother had told her they were on their way back to the Gold Coast. She was going to start at the JuiceNet, perhaps catch up with Zane and tell him not to spoil the surprise if she saw him, and if Cleo and Rikki weren't there she was going to show up on their respective doorsteps. Emma couldn't wait to see the look on their faces once she knocked and they opened the door... Her heart fluttered with excitement just thinking about it. She was finally going to have her best friends back, and the first thing they were going to do was swim their tails off.

Standing in the shadow of where the JuiceNet once stood, Emma's mouth gaped. The sign on the new building read _Rikki's_ in neon, cursive lettering. It couldn't be referring to her Rikki, could it? Rikki _Chadwic_k? Letting curiosity get the better of her, Emma smoothed the front of her white sundress before entering through the beaded doorway. The first thing she noticed was the live band playing.

"_Cause I'm no ordinary girl, I'm from the deep blow underworld_," The blonde headed girl with big blue eyes sang, stepping down off the stage to dance through the crowd and sling an arm around Rikki's shoulders. "_Land or sea; the world's my oyster, I'm the peaaaarl...No ordinary girl!_"

Emma furrowed her eyebrows, confused, as Rikki grinned brightly and tried to hide the embarrassed flush creeping up her neck. At least something managed to stay the same; Rikki's hatred of being the center of attention. The strange girl hanging on her, however, didn't seem to have a clue. Emma wasn't sure what to do now. It'd be rude to just swoop in and steal the show, but at the same time Emma hadn't seen Rikki in almost a year and a half. She wasn't exactly in the mood to wait. As the girl let go of Rikki and bounced her way back to the stage Emma quickly crept up behind Rikki and poked her on the shoulder, barely able to contain the dopey grin on her face.

"Can I help yo—" Rikki began as she turned around. "Emma!"

Before Emma could even react Rikki was puling her in for a hug. _Since when did Rikki hug anyone?_ Emma thought, laughing as she returned the hug.

"You didn't tell me you were coming back so soon! I have to call Cleo, oh my God—"

"Breathe, Rikki." Emma said fondly. "I thought me and you could, ya' know, show up at her house unexpectedly and surprise her."

"That's a great idea! Let me go tell Zane I'm taking the rest of the night off and let Bella know they'll be an extra guest at our campout tonight. Be right back!"

As the crowd burst into a round of applause for the band's performance Emma watched Rikki disappear into a back room. It must've been someone's office, Emma guessed. The blonde girl, probably Bella judging by how friendly she was with Rikki, bowed playfully before turning around to say something to the drummer. He looked familiar, but Emma just couldn't put her finger on why... Drummer Boy stood up and stretched his arms upward, still chattering away to Bella, before turning around to face the crowd and—

The drumsticks fell from his hands, clattering loudly as they hit the wooden stage, and his face broke out into an absolutely blinding smile.

"Emma?!" He asked, leaping down from the stage and crossing the cafe into three long strides just to yank her in for a bear-hug.

"Can't. Breathe." Emma said, gently patting the back of whoever was hugging her. He stood back and—

"Lewis?" She asked, astounded. "Is that you?"

"You forgot about me already? I'm hurt, Emma. Deeply. I thought we had a connection." He deadpanned.

Emma rolled her eyes. "Oh, it's you alright. Gosh, you look... different."

Different was an understatement. The last time Emma had seen Lewis his hair was too long and his shirts were button up and he hadn't quite grown into his legs. Now he was still lean and lithe as he ever, but he'd packed on muscle in all the right places and cut his hair short. His clothes were a lot tighter, too. He was currently dressed in a pair of khakis shorts and a slightly faded black _The White Stripes_ t-shirt.

"You do too," He replied. "In a good way, of course. You look gorgeous. How was your trip?"

Since when did Lewis have social skills?

"It was fantastic." Emma replied with a smile. "Paris, Egypt, Rome, America... You name it, we went there. I couldn't wait to get back home, though. I've missed you guys so much. Speaking of which, where's Cleo?"

"At home, unfortunately. Kim invited her new boyfriend over and Mr. S had some work related emergency to tend too, I don't know what, but Cleo got stuck babysitting them both." He chuckled. "She's spittin' nails."

"That stinks," Emma said sympathetically. She knew Kim was a major pain. "Rikki and I are going to go surprise Cleo in a few minutes actually, you should come with us."

"Sounds great." Lewis grinned.

"Speaking of Cleo, how are you two?"

Something a lot like guilt flickered across Lewis's face before he shrugged and leaned against the wall. "I don't know. We were doing good for a while, but then a little problem from the past reared it's ugly head, which I will explain to you later by the way, and now we're working through some issues. I think we're going to be okay? I don't know. We're taking things day by day right now."

Emma nodded, unsure of what else to say. Thankfully Rikki came striding over and broke her and Lewis's suddenly silence.

"Ooh," Rikki began. "I see you two have reacquainted."

"That we have." Lewis said.

"I didn't even recognize him." Emma admitted. "Have I really been gone that long?"

"Almost two years." Rikki replied. "But it doesn't matter, you're back now. C'mon, let's go surprise Cleo."

"Wait, isn't Bella coming?" Lewis asked, looking back toward the stage.

"She's meeting us at Mako Island later."

Emma felt her blood run cold. Bella knew?

"Mako Island? You told this Bella girl our secret?! How could you be so reckless?!"

"Relax Emma," Rikki reassured her as they headed outside. "Bella is a mermaid too. Believe me, you can trust her and her boyfriend both."

"Our secret isn't much of a secret anymore, is it?"

"Oh, don't be like that." Lewis chided. "You would not believe the shit that has went down while you were gone. There was a _water tentacle_."

"...water tentacle?" Emma asked. What on earth happened while she was away?

"Exactly what it sounds like." Rikki added. "A giant tentacle made of water. It attacked all of us on the full moon. It almost kidnapped me once... That's actually how we met Bella. Her and Cleo saved me."

"Wow." Emma breathed, starting to feel overwhelmed. She was really out of the loop.

"Cleo's dad got remarried." Rikki continued. "His new wife's name is Samantha. She's pretty cool."

"Geez, I can't believe I missed so much."

"Don't worry," Lewis said, slinging an arm around Emma's shoulder. It felt like a stranger. "We'll get you caught up."

Emma didn't even realize they'd arrived at Cleo's house until Lewis was knocking on the door. She quickly smoothed her sundress down again and tucked a strand of hair behind her hair, suddenly filled to the brim with renewed excitement.

"Heeeeey Cleo!" Emma said enthusiastically as Cleo opened the door.

Cleo shrieked so loudly Kim shouted at her to keep it down from the other room and lunged at Emma for a backbreaking hug. Emma laughed brightly and clinged to her best friend, tears threatening to spill out of her eyes. She couldn't believe just how much she'd missed her friends.

"What are you doing here?!" Cleo gushed, ushering them all inside. "I thought you were still traveling!"

"Nope!" Emma beamed. "Just got home last night. I thought I'd drop in and surprise you all."

"She didn't even recognize me." Lewis said, flopping down on the couch.

"Oh great." Kim grumbled from the kitchen. "My sister's weird friends and even weirder boyfriend are here. Sorry Timmy."

"I heard that!" Cleo countered. "Can't you two go outside or something?!"

"As you can see," Rikki said to Emma. "Kim is still a pain, and now she's got _boyfriend_. Gag."

"I just, I can't believe you're here!" Cleo continued, pulling Emma in for another hug. "We've missed you so so much. Did you have a good time?"

"Yeah, it was great! I saw so many incredible things—but I'm really happy to be home."

"So," Cleo began. "Have you met Bella yet? I've been trying to get ahold of you so I could introduce you two."

"I saw her at the cafe, but I haven't gotten a chance to talk to her yet. Lewis says she's like us?"

"Yup! Don't worry, though. You guys'll get along great."

Emma smiled brittlely, feeling dejected. Had they replaced her? "Can't wait to meet her."

"Great!" Cleo enthused. "We're camping out on Mako tonight, on the beach! It's going to be so much fun!"

_I sure hope so_, Emma thought.

oOo

Emma had forgotten how fantastic it felt to swim, especially in the company of her two best friends. They all took their time on their way to Mako Island, enjoying one another's company and the way the reef looked as it glimmered colorfully in the rays of moonlight casting down through the the surface of the water. By the time they reached Mako, Lewis's boat was already pushed onshore and him and Will were fumbling with the tent. Zane was sitting next to a pile of wood, futilely trying to light it.

"Do you rejects need any help?" Rikki asked as she dragged herself onto the beach and away from the tide. One of the downsides of being a mermaid: having no way to get out of the water when you need to get on the beach. "I can't tell which one of your three is failing the most at what you're doing, it's pretty hilarious."

"Why don't you bring your magic mermaid fire power over here and make yourself useful?" Zane called, still messing with his lighter.

Rikki rolled her eyes and extended her hand above the wood, within seconds flames burst into existence.

"Happy now?" She retorted.

"Very." He replied, suddenly yanking her into his land pressing a kiss to her mouth.

After she'd squealed loudly in surprise, Rikki kissed him back before smacking the back of his head playfully. "Good. Now go help set up the tent. I refuse to sleep under the sky where I could get rained on."

"Yes, _mistress_." He deadpanned.

"And don't you forget it!" She called as Zane made his way over to Lewis and Will. Rikki really hoped him and Will could get cooperate long enough to get their sleeping quarters set up, they still fought viciously. It wasn't like Lewis would help the situation either, given one broke out. Him and Zane had gotten pretty close in the last few months, close enough to call each other in the middle of the night to go do "stupid, probably illegal shit" together as Rikki had put it once, and she _knew _how Lewis got when it came down to loyalties. Rikki almost felt bad for Will, aside from Bella and Cleo and herself, he didn't have much of anyone.

While Cleo and Emma rested on the shoreline and watched the boys pretend to know what they're doing, Bella swam up between them.

"Sorry I'm late, guys." Bella began. "I had to do something for my mum."

"Bella, hey!" Cleo said excitedly. "This is Emma, the other mermaid I was telling you about."

"Hi!" Bella said with a warm smile, extending her hand. "I'm Bella. The other _other_ mermaid."

Emma chuckled and shook her hand. "Nice to meet you."

"Um!" The three of them heard Will call from somewhere within the massive jumble of poles and fabric that was supposed to be their tent. "We could use some assistance!"

"No, we've got it!" Zane interjected. "Just keep doing whatever you're doing!"

"Shut up, Zane! We need the help!"

"I will stab you with this pole, Will, I swear to God!"

"Boys." Cleo groaned. "C'mon, lets go fix the mess they've made."

Cleo, Emma, and Bella all dragged themselves out of the water and up onto the beach, safely away from the tide. While they waited to dry off, Emma looked around. Mako Island, it seemed, was the same as usual. She was thankful for that. Some things she just couldn't handle changing.

It takes nearly forty minutes to get their boyfriends untangled from the mess and the tent itself set up. Cleo had borrowed her father's ten sleeper for the night, wanting as much sleeping room as possible, but hadn't quite anticipated the complicated set up. She dreaded figuring out how to take the thing down.

"Finally." Rikki said, taking a step back to admire their work. "I'm ready for a freaking nap."

"Not before s'mores, your not!" Bella said, grabbing Rikki by the arm and pulling excitedly toward their campfire. "C'mon!"

Bella was an energetic, bubbly little thing and Emma was really starting to warm up to her. It was hard not to feel anything but goodwill toward Bella, there was something very... uplifting about her. Excitable. Maybe Cleo was right, maybe they would get along great.

—but at the same time, Emma still felt unsure about Bella. Something in her gut told her Bella was hiding something. Something big.

"Emma, come on!" Cleo enthused, plopping down next to Rikki by the campfire and gesturing toward the empty spot across from her. "We've got so much to tell you."

Shoving down her suspicious thoughts, Emma sat down in between Bella and Zane and crossed her legs. Cleo had already began rattling on about the previous year, about water tentacles and comets and graduation and everything else under the sun. Emma smiled, for the moment content to listen to stories by firelight and eat s'mores. She couldn't remember the last time she'd seen Cleo smiling so bright, heard Rikki laugh so genuinely. It was for that reason Emma decided she'd wait until tomorrow evening to ask Cleo and Rikki about Bella a little... in depth.

What if Bella turned out to be like Charlotte? She didn't seem like the obsessive power-hungry sociopath type, but Emma knew from experience that looks could be deceiving. Forcing a smile, Emma took a bite of her s'more and halfheartedly listened to Cleo's story of how her, Rikki, and Bella apparently saved the world together. She couldn't help but keep one eye on Bella the entire time, unsure about how to feel about her.

What Emma did know, however, was that Bella Hartley was definitely hiding something—and she was determined to find out what.

* * *

**A/N:** _Don't favorite/follow without reviewing, please. :) _


	2. Chapter 2

2.

"C'mon, Lewis!" Cleo whined, shaking his bare shoulder roughly. "You slept like the dead all night, I know you're not that tired. Wake up!"

"Cleooooo," He groaned into his pillow, pulling the blanket over his head. "This is the first full night of sleep I've gotten since Allison was born."

She huffed irritatedly. "Well whose fault is that?"

"Can we not do this today, Cleo?" Lewis pleaded, voice thick with sleep. "Please? It's bad enough I have to deal with Claire later. Not to mention I've got a court date Thursday."

Cleo wanted to snap something along the lines of _if she's so bad then why'd you go and sleep with her? _at him but knew she'd regret it the second the words flew out of her mouth. It wasn't like Lewis cheated on her, not really. They'd been on break when he slept with Claire, and she'd been nothing more than a one night stand, a way to blow off steam, and by the time Cleo decided to take Lewis back Claire was long gone, off living somewhere in Perth, and the affair was put behind them. Neither her or Lewis had expected Claire to come back eight months later with a tiny newborn that had Lewis's eyes and nose, though. That was the day that marked the beginning of a very long, very complicated situation. One Cleo was still doing her best to deal with. It wasn't so much little Allison that bothered her, because Allison was possibly the cutest baby in Australia and she had a giggle that could light up an entire room, but more so the fact Lewis went and slept with someone he didn't even know while he was supposed to be grieving for his relationship. _Fighting _for his relationship. When Cleo told Lewis she needed space and time to figure herself out it had been the hardest thing she'd ever done, especially considering how hard she'd fought to get him back from Charlotte. But Lewis acted completely fine, a little mopey perhaps, but otherwise fine—and then he'd gone and had sex with Claire, some girl he'd known for two hours. _Just like that_. Like he hadn't just been _dumped_.

Cleo really didn't like Claire.

Although, on the bright side, Lewis didn't either.

Sitting back on her haunches, Cleo sighed. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that."

"It's fine," Lewis said, yawning as he forced himself into a sitting position. "This situation can't be easy on you."

"I'm not the one with the kid."

"You're the girlfriend of the one with kid." He countered, giving her a solemn smile.

Cleo chuckled and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Let's go see what the others are up to, yeah?"

"Sounds good to me." Lewis gestured toward the tent opening. "Ladies first."

Once Cleo and Lewis had crawled out of the tent they made their way over to the others, who were hanging out by what was left of their campfire. Bella and Will were sitting on the sand nearby, Bella's mouth running a mile a minute, while Emma tidied up the area by picking up any leftover graham cracker and chocolate wrappers.

"Classic Emma." Cleo teased. "Always tidying up."

Emma rolled her eyes playfully. "I don't know about you, but I'd like to not get fined for littering."

"We're on an uninhabited island. I really doubt there are any police lurking around." Lewis pointed out.

"Speaking of uninhabited," Cleo began. "Where'd Rikki and Zane go?"

Emma shrugged. "I thought they were still in the tent with you two." She turned to Bella and Will. "Bella? Do you know where Rikki and Zane went?"

Bella shook her head. "No. Rikki said something about a strange noise early this morning, though. Maybe she went to investigate."

Cleo and Emma exchanged worried glances.

"I'm sure they're alright." Will said, standing up and brushing the sand from his shorts. "If they're not back here in, say, ten minutes, we'll go looking for them."

"Or we could start looking for them now." Cleo suggested.

Lewis sighed. "Cleo, chill. Just give them a few minutes."

Cleo huffed and sat down beside Bella. She fiddled nervously with a small shell that was laying half buried beside her. Lewis helped Emma gather up the rest of the trash and secure it in a couple ziplock baggies. The air felt thick with apprehension now... It made Cleo feel sick to her stomach. Fifteen minutes later, just moments before they were all going to start looking, Rikki and Zane came stumbling out of the woods. They looked rough, their clothes slightly torn and clinging onto burs. There were a few scratches, most likely from thorn bushes, across Zane's face and Rikki's left arm.

"There you two are!" Cleo exclaimed, rushing over. "Where'd you go?"

"I thought I heard something this morning," Rikki began, pulling a twig from her hair. "It almost sounded like footsteps, except heavier. Bigger. I don't know how to explain it. Anyway, I got up to go check it out and Zane decided to follow me. Long story short, we got a little lost on our way back."

"A little lost?" Zane retorted. "We went in circles for like two hours and got eaten alive by bugs. I'm never going camping again."

Cleo chuckled, relieved. "Always the dramatic one, aren't you Zane?"

"What do you think was making whatever sound you heard?" Lewis asked, furrowing his brows.

Rikki shrugged. "I've got no idea. Creeped me out, whatever it was."

"It was probably an animal or something." Will suggested. "I wouldn't worry too much about it."

"Next time you go investigating, try and tell one of us first." Cleo said. "I thought you'd been kidnapped or something!"

"By what? Kangaroos?" Zane deadpanned.

Bella snorted. "I don't think anyone is going to kidnap us, Cleo. You can relax."

"Well whatever," She replied. "Are you guys going to help me pack this stuff up or not? The sooner we get going, the sooner we get to the mall! They're having a sale on jeans and we can't miss it."

That earned a collective sigh from the boys.

"What time is it?" Lewis asked, looking out toward the horizon.

Bella checked her phone. "It's eleven thirty, why?"

"Because Lewis has to go deal with his hellbitch baby-mama at two. If he doesn't have time to douse himself in holy water she might accidentally touch his skin and then all his flesh would melt off."

Lewis groaned. "Thank you for the input, Zane. I don't know what we'd do without you, really."

"Baby mama?" Emma asked, confused.

"That would be the mother of my daughter. She isn't pleasant."

"You can say that again." Cleo mumbled.

Emma blinked, the information not quite registering. "You. Lewis. Have a daughter?"

"Yes, I do. Her name is Allison."

"She's the cutest baby on the planet, just FYI." Bella interjected happily. "And she always smells like strawberries and baby powder!"

"Fun fact," Rikki cut in, elbowing Emma. "Bella loves babies."

"Well?" Bella chuckled. "They're so cute!"

"Yeah, they're real cute at four in the morning when they're screaming bloody murder in your ear." Lewis said. "They're especially cute when they do that and you've only had twenty minutes of sleep in two days."

"Oh, don't be that way." Bella chided. "Alli's a little angel now and you know it."

Lewis smiled, pride flickering across his face. "That she is. I got her to sleep for six hours straight the night before last."

"Where is she now?" Emma asked.

"With her mother, Claire. Right now she gets her on the weekends, but I'm in the process of filing for full custody."

"How come?"

Lewis was quiet for a moment, searching for the right words. "Shortly after Allison was born Claire was diagnosed with Postpartum Depression. It was pretty obvious, even before Allison was born, Claire really didn't want anything to do with her. She treated Allison horribly. She was always raising her voice, telling Allison to shut up and stop crying... I just don't think Claire could handle it and I refuse to let my kid grow up in a situation like that. You don't yell at a baby to quiet it down, you _take care of it_. At least I won't have much of a court battle to fight, though. I don't think Claire will care where Allison goes as long as it isn't with her. She just wants to tuck tail and run. Good riddance, I say."

"Wow," Emma replied. "That sounds really complicated."

Lewis shrugged. "It is, but we'll survive. Once I get full custody Claire will head back to Perth and it'll just be me and Allison."

"How does Cleo feel about all this?"

"You'll have to ask her. I'd actually appreciate it if you did. She's trying to be a good sport about this I know, but..." He was silent for a moment. "I just don't know. Whenever we try and talk it spirals into an argument. Think you could talk to her? For me?"

Emma smiled sympathetically. "Yeah, I'll find someway to bring it up later."

"Thanks so much, Emma."

She nodded. "No problem."

"Are you guys going to spend all day chatting or are you going to help me take down this goddamned tent?" Zane called, flustered.

"Sounds like thats our que." Lewis said, heading over to where Rikki and Zane and Will where disassembling the tent. Emma saw Bella and Cleo loading their bags into Lewis's boat and decided to help them instead. Watching Zane pretend to know what he's doing never got old, or any less hilarious.

"Oh, hey Emma!" Bella greeted. "Have a good time last night?"

"Yeah," She replied, unsure if she was lying or not. "It was a lot of fun. It was nice to meet you, too. I thought me and Rikki and Cleo were the only mermaids."

Bella chuckled. "Don't feel bad. I thought I was the only mermaid too until I met Cleo and Rikki."

"So," Emma continued, lost on what to say next. It'd be easier to find out what Bella was hiding if she knew what it was about. "Will, huh? Is that you're boyfriend?"

"Yeah." Bella replied shyly. "We've only been together a couple months now. What about you? Do you have a special someone?"

Emma caught her bottom lip between her teeth, a sudden pang of sorrow turning her blood to ice. "I used too. His name was Ash. I thought we were going to be together forever, but then my family and I left the coast and sometime while we were gone he moved up to Sydney for Uni. We still keep in touch but I'm not really sure what we are anyone."

"Aww, I'm sorry. I'd say I know how you feel but Will is my first real boyfriend."

"Ash was mine, too."

Before Bella could respond Zane was shoving the tent, now probably disassembled and crammed into it's carrying case, into the boat next to the girls' bags. He stood back and set his hands on his hips, nearly pantings.

"Thanks for all your help." He said dryly.

"Wow, are we packed up already?" Cleo asked.

"Yup." Will replied. "I assume we'll meet you girls at the cafe?"

"Sounds good to me." Bella replied. "We'll figure out what we're doing from there—and when we're taking advantage of that sale of jeans, of course."

"I've got to go shower and then meet up with Claire, unfortunately. I've some papers to sign and so does she. I'll text you when I'm back, though."

Cleo nodded tensely. "Well, we'll see you then."

Cleo turned and ran into the rough surf, Emma and Bella and Rikki close in tow. Will climbed into the boat as they disappeared beneath the waves.

Zane gave Lewis a reassuring squeeze on the shoulder.

"You think you can make this thing with Cleo work?" He asked.

"I sure hope so." Lewis replied, meaning it more than anything he'd else he'd ever said in his life. "I sure hope so."

* * *

**A/N**: _Sooo! Whadda' you guys think? Sorry this chapter is a bit boring... The next chapter will be much better, promise. :) Also, angst-y Cleo/Lewis. [laughs __maniacally into the night] You know the drill: review, please. :) It keeps me updatin'! __  
_


	3. Chapter 3

3.

Emma could tell Cleo had something weighing on her mind.

Cleo never just swam like she was doing now. She liked to twist through the water and do backflips and grab onto Rikki's tail and pick up any pretty little shells or rocks that caught her eye. Sometimes she'd even break away from the group to play with a nearby dolphin. Cleo never _just swam_. Rikki and Bella were ahead of Cleo too, gesturing at one another and pointing out various aspects of the reef. It was clear they were in no real hurry to get back to the mainland. They were enjoying the sea. Cleo, on the other hand, was lagging behind, seemingly lost in her own world. Concerned, Emma swam up next to Cleo and gently touched her shoulder.

Cleo smiled at her, though it didn't quite reach her eyes.

"You okay?" Emma mouthed.

Cleo scrunched her eyebrows together, unable to read her lips.

"You," Emma mouthed again, slower this time. "Okay?"

Cleo seemed to understand her that time. She nodded yes, but Emma didn't believe her. There was defiantly something bothering her. Probably Lewis, Emma figured. He did have a child now, not to mention that said child was from another woman.

Emma gave Cleo a look, one that said _we're going to talk later whether you like it or not_.

Cleo looked away from Emma's face toward the depthless expanse of open sea, contemplating, before catching up with Bella and Rikki. Seeing Cleo, Rikki, and Bella swimming together made Emma feel like an outsider. A third wheel, so to speak. Back when Charlotte was still around Rikki had said there was only room for three mermaids, and now that there were four again Emma couldn't help but wonder which one of them them was going to eventually get booted.

She could only hope it wouldn't be her.

oOo

When the girls arrived at the cafe Will was the only one waiting for them. He was sitting at one of the outside tables, casually playing around on his phone. It was the first really good look Emma had gotten of him. Short sandy hair, strong jaw, muscular and well built... She had to admit, he was incredibly handsome.

"Where'd Zane go?" Rikki asked.

Will looked up at her. "No idea. He said he had to go deal with something and just took off. Nate was texting him nonstop on the way here, though. I'm sure thats where he is."

Rikki chuckled humorlessly. It was a dry sound. "That doesn't surprise me."

"Me either." Emma agreed.

"Oh well. I'm not waiting on his unpredictable ass. I'm not letting him ruin our plans."

"He probably would've just whined the whole time anyway." Bella added. "Remember last time? He tripped over his own two feet then pretended he broke his ankle just so we'd have to leave."

Last time? Cleo and Rikki must've been friends with Bella longer than Emma originally through. A bone-deep sensation of isolation crept up her spine and settled into her veins. She was really starting to miss Ash, even more so than usual.

"He did that?" Will asked. "Seriously?"

"Unfortunately." Rikki replied. "I swear, sometimes he is just so..." She made a choking gesture with her hands.

"Well, Zane can do whatever he does with Nate all he wants. We've got a sale to get to, right?" Cleo asked, grinning.

"Yup!" Bella agreed, practically bouncing in her sandals. "I also want to look for some new shoes. I just bought the cutest summer dress last week but I don't have anything that'll go with it—"

The shrill ringing of Cleo's phone cut Bella off.

"Sorry Bella!" Cleo apologized, quickly fishing her phone out of her back pocket and answering it before bothering to check the caller id. "Hello? ... Oh, hey Dad. What's up? ... Just going to the mall with Rikki and Bella and Emma. ... Yeah, she got here yesterday! ...Ugh, Dad! No! Do I have to? ... But she's fifteen, she can stay home alone! ...Ugh, fine. We'll be there soon. Love you, bye."

"What was that about?" Bella asked, taking the words right out of Emma's mouth.

"Dad has to go meet the boat repairman in a few minutes and wants me to take Kim to the mall with us."

"What? Why?" Rikki asked, apalled by the idea. "Can't she stay home alone?"

"That's what I said, but apparently he's afraid Kim's new boyfriend will sneak over or something. So, we either take her with us or sit at home with her. Ugh, she is such a pain. I swear. I can't wait until Sam gets back from Zimbabwe."

"Well," Will said, standing up and slipping his own phone back into his pocket. "Let's go."

The walk to Cleo's house seemed to drag on and on for Emma. Rikki was ranting to Cleo about Zane and Bella was so interested in Will Emma didn't have anyone to talk to. She'd offically became_ that friend_ who always walked behind the other two on a sidewalk because there wasn't enough room for all three of them. Emma sighed sadly, hoping Cleo didn't notice out of the corner of her eye. When they finally did arrive at Cleo's Don was already gone and Kim was pouting on the couch.

"C'mon Kim, lets get this over with." Cleo said.

Kim groaned and stood up, wearing a skirt that was too short for a girl her age. "When we get to the mall, I don't know any of you. My friend Abby is meeting me."

Without another word she stomped outside.

Cleo groaned. "Sisters."

"Pretty sure Will has the worst sister here." Rikki said.

Will winced. "I hate to admit it but, yeah, Sophie can be pretty hard to deal with sometimes."

"Sometimes?" Bella asked.

"Wait," Emma asked. Another new girl? "Who's Sophie?"

"My sister." Will answered. "She's works at the cafe. Short, bright red hair. Too tight clothes. Usually following Zane around like a lost puppy. It's kind of hard to miss her."

"Cold dead eyes of a shark." Rikki deadpanned.

"Just stay away from her and you'll be okay." Cleo warned. "She's pretty shady."

"Noted." Emma said wearily.

"Are you guys coming or not?!" Kim shouted from outside, irritated.

"Let's go," Cleo continued. "We wouldn't want to keep Princess Kim waiting now, would we?"

Emma was the last one out of the door. She couldn't help but wonder what happened to the obnoxious, nosy little girl with blunt bangs she'd left behind. Kim was a teenager now. And she had her first boyfriend.

God, it was like her freshman year all over again. Emma felt old.

oOo

"Hi sweet pea! Daddy missed you."

Allison shrieked happily from inside her baby carrier and reached for Lewis, her little feet kicking inpatiently. Lewis grinned as he leaned over the carrier to press a kiss to her forehead. He laughed when she grabbed his nose and turned his head to kiss the palm of her tiny hand. It was hard to believe just how much he loved her sometimes.

"Are you leaving now?" Claire asked, leaning against the kitchen counter, wearing nothing but a night shirt and a pair of skimpy underwear. "I need to call my lawyer and fill some stuff out."

"Yeah, I'm going. I'm going." Lewis replied, slinging Allison's baby-bag over his shoulder and grabbing her carrier. "C'mon baby girl, lets go. Mummy has to have her mental breakdown now."

"Oh, fuck you." Claire spat. "And don't let the door hit your ass on the way out."

Lewis ignored her as he walked out the door. She wasn't worth his time.

Once he'd gotten Allison's carrier safely buckled in the backseat of his Dodge Charger and pulled out of Claire's driveway, Lewis called Cleo. He got an answer after four rings.

"Hey Lewis." Bella answered.

"Hey Bella," He replied. "Where's Cleo?"

"Driving. We're on our way to the mall. How'd things with Claire go?"

"Oh, the usual. Before I left she was getting ready to call her lawyer. I can't wait until this custody crap is over."

"I know, me too. How's Allison?"

"Precious as usual." He said fondly. In the backseat, Allison cooed.

"Can you meet us at the mall in five minutes or so?"

"Sure thing. Where do you want to meet up?"

"Just a second," Bella said, turning to Cleo. "Hey, Lewis wants to know where to meet us."

"The good court!" Rikki interjected. "I'm starving."

Bella chuckled and turned back to the phone. "Meet us at the food court."

"Sounds good. I'll see you guys there."

"Bye Lewis, give Allie a kiss for me!" Bella enthused before ending the call.

Rikki rolled her eyes playfully. "You know Bella, kidnapping is illegal. Just thought you should know that."

"But she's so cute. And her eyes are so blue! She is literally so adorable I think I might _die_."

"So, how old is she?" Emma asked from the backseat. "Allison. I haven't got to meet her."

"She'll be four months in two weeks." Cleo said, flicking on the turn signal. There was a hollowness in her voice that made Emma's chest tight with concern.

"Aww, so she's a baby-baby." Emma replied.

"She's adorable!" Bella gushed.

"We heard you the first ten times, Bella." Rikki teased.

"I can't help it, okay? I love babies."

"We're here." Cleo said a little too sharply, whipping into a parking spot. Emma felt like she was the only one in the car picking up on the tension. She understood why Lewis had said him and Cleo only argued when Allison was brought up now. Cleo was obviously still feeling hurt. Emma really hoped they could talk soon. Privately. With Bella constantly hanging around Emma hadn't got two seconds of alone time with Cleo or Rikki. She bristled.

Cleo and Rikki were her best friends first, so why was _she_ the one being pushed aside?

oOo

Lewis got to the food court first.

When the girls were within eyeshot Bella took off running like a child who'd just found her hidden Christmas presents.

"Hi Allie baby!" She said enthusiastically, taking her out of Lewis's arms. Allison cooed at her and reached for necklace.

"No no," Bella said. "You can't have my necklace. You could put it in your mouth and choke on it!"

Allison frowned, scrunching her little eyebrows together and puffing her lip out, before reaching for Bella's necklace again.

Bella couldn't help but laugh. "You're going to be difficult, dust like you're daddy aren't you?"

"So, this is Allison?" Emma asked despite already knowing.

It was easy to tell Allison got a lot of her looks from Lewis. Right off the bat Emma could tell she had his eyes and his nose and his complexion. She guessed Allison's thick black hair and full lips came from her mother. Bella was right though, Allison was absolutely precious. She was wearing a light blue sundress with small dolphins embroidered around the bottom along with matching sandals and a little blue bow in her hair.

"This is her!" Bella said. "Most adorable baby on the planet, didn't I tell you?"

Emma chuckled and outstretched her arms. "She's certainly is! Look at the dolphins on her dress, oh my gosh."

Allison gladly went to Emma's waiting arms. She was a social little thing, Emma noticed.

"Hi Allison," Emma said sweetly. "I could just take you home with me! Mum would never give you back."

"Where'd Rikki and Will go?" Cleo asked, trying to hide her uncomfortableness with Allison. Her tone betrayed her.

"Over there." Lewis said, pointing in the direction of the food kiosks. "They're getting pretzels, I think."

"Ah." Cleo said. She sat down in the chair next to Lewis and Emma sat down across from her. Bella took her seat next to Emma.

Emma let Allison stand in her lap and bounce happily. Allison squealed loudly. Emma didn't miss the absolutely blinding smile, bursting with love and pride, that broke out across Lewis's face. The look on Cleo's face, however, was less than blinding. It was a brittle grin, forced and thin as eggshells.

"We're back." Will said as him and Rikki approached, Rikki taking a massive bite of her pretzel.

"Jesus Rikki, have a bite of pretzel." Lewis said.

"I was _so hungry_." She replied, mouth full of food. "I haven't eaten all morning."

Cleo rolled her eyes playfully. "You're always hungry, Rikki."

"I've got to go to the bathroom, guys." Bella said, standing up. "I'll be right back."

"Oh, I'll go with you." Emma offered. "I need to touch up my eyeshadow."

"No!" Bella said quickly, nearly tripping over her chair. "I mean, I'll just be in and out... Really fast. Your makeup looks great anyway. But, yeah. I'll be back."

"Thaaaat was strange." Will said, watching as Bella walked briskly toward the bathrooms.

"Seriously." Emma agreed. "Does she always act like that?"

Rikki and Cleo looked at each other, confused.

"Not really." Lewis said. "Maybe she just isn't feeling well and doesn't want you girls to worry."

Rikki shrugged. "I say we leave her be. She obviously needs a little space. I can understand that."

"Yeah," Cleo said cautiously. "But if she does it again I'm following her."

Emma bit her lip, raking her brain. What could Bella possibly be hiding? She wasn't into drugs or something, was she? Pills, maybe? Bella was clutching onto her purse pretty tightly... Allison squealed again, pulling Emma from her thoughts.

"I'm back!" Bella said as she approached, bag tucked under her arm. "Now c'mon, we've got a sale to get to don't we? All the sizes are going to be gone!"

Yeah, Bella was hiding something strange for sure.

* * *

**A/N: **_Hope you darlings enjoyed! Review pleaaaaaaase :) xx _


	4. Chapter 4

4.

"You coming Lewis?"

"I'll meet up with you girls in a few minutes. I'm going to give Allie a quick change."

Cleo nodded and walked off with Bella, Rikki, and Emma. He waited until they were out of sight and out of earshot before fishing his phone out of his pocket and texting Zane.

"_You find a ring for Rikki ye_t"

While he waited on a reply Lewis put Allison back in her carrier and tucked her favorite Cinderella blanket around her so she wouldn't get chilled. She reached for him.

"Not now baby girl." He said. "But I promise I'll play with you when we get home, okay? I bet Emma'll want her mum to meet you too. Doesn't that sound good?"

Allison replied by trying to shove her foot in her mouth. Lewis laughed as he reached for his buzzing phone. The text was from Zane.

"_Not yet. Me and nate are heading to the mall now. Think u can meet up with us_"

"_I'm already here with the girls_" Lewis texted back. "_Ill meet you out front._"

"_Thanks mate_" Zane responded, and then a few moments later. "_How'd things go with ultra bitch_"

"_Horrible as usual. I swear she's mentally unstable_"

"_Never stopped you before_"

Lewis rolled his eyes, knowing Zane was referring to Charlotte. Though, Zane did have a point... Charlotte had been pretty unstable.

"_Asshole"_

"_Love u too fuckface_"

Lewis decided against replying, too exhausted to think of a witty response. Interacting with Claire, even as shortly as he did, managed to drain him completely. He instead picked up Allison's carrier and headed in the opposite direction of the girls and toward the entrance to the mall to meet Zane.

They had a ring to pick out.

oOo

Emma had been staring at the little droplet of blood that had leaked through Bella's white sundress for twenty minutes how, debating on whether or not to ask her if she was alright. It seemed redundant, though. Bella was chattering away to Cleo and Rikki, unsure whether she should try and squeeze into a pants size smaller than usual or go with her usual. But Emma was _so curious_ it actually hurt. It was just a tiny dot of blood the size a pinprick, hardly noticeable to those who weren't as obsessive compulsive as she was, but _how on earth did it get there_? What could Bella have done so quickly in the bathroom that would result in a tiny spot of blood?

"Hey Cleo," Emma asked. "Do you think you could go ask someone for a dressing room key for me? I'm still trying to decide between on these two styles."

Cleo grinned, a genuine one that made Emma's heart flutter. It was beyond reliving to finally see Cleo enjoying herself. "Sure thing. C'mon Rikki!"

Taking advantage of their alone time, Emma hastily pretended to browse through the clothes next to Bella.

"Hey Bella, you okay?" She asked.

Emma noticed Bella swallow thickly, venerability quickly flickering across her face before she was turning back to the rack of jeans she was looking through.

"I'm great!" She, after a beat, said smoothly. "Why do you ask?"

"You've got a little blood on your dress."

Bella looked down at the blot of red and shrugged. "My cat Nixie scratched my leg this morning. A little blood must've got on my dress when I put a bandaid on the cut. Don't worry. I'm totally fine."

Emma nodded, suspicious, but decided to drop the subject. She didn't want to push her boundaries. Not yet.

"So... Where'd Will go?" She asked instead.

Bella smiled softly. "I said I was thirsty and he offered to go get me a drink."

"That was swee—"

"There aren't any more dressing rooms available." Rikki said as she reproached the two of them with Cleo, accidentally cutting Emma off. "You'll have to wait a few minutes."

"That's fine." Emma replied. "Bella and I were just chatting anyway."

"Ooh, that's great!" Cleo enthused. "I'm so glad you guys are getting along. I was worried you'd hate each other or something."

Bella rolled her eyes playfully. "You're so paranoid, Cleo. Emma's cool. We're cool. Nothing to worry about."

Emma smiled at the honesty in Bella's voice. "You heard the mermaid, Cleo."

As they four of them continued to browse through clothes and chat about their plans for the day ahead Emma found herself continuing to stare at the spot of blood on Bella's dress. Would could Bella's secret possibly be? Someone as sweet and innocent as Bella wouldn't really be doing drugs, would they? Because at this point, Emma sickeningly realized, drugs are beginning to make more and more sense. She eyed Bella's clutch bag thoughtfully, knowing exactly what she was going to have to do to satisfy her own curiosity—dig through it.

oOo

"It's staring at me."

"What?"

"Your kid. Its staring at me."

"First of all Nate," Lewis began, already irritated with his idiocy. "_It _is a she, and she has a name."

"Seriously Nate." Zane added. "I know Allie isn't the first baby you've ever seen."

"Yeah, but its the first one to _stare _at me like that. It creeps me out. She hardly even blinks."

"She's not even four months old yet, of course she's going to stare. Everything is new to her." Lewis said, shifting Allison's carrier to his other hand. "There, happy now?"

"Hi Aliie." Zane said, giving her a small wave as she stared up at him with owlish eyes. Allison giggled and moved her hands, mimicking his wave. "Smart, isn't she?"

"Thats what scares me." Lewis laughed. "That and the idea of her turning out like her mother."

Zane pretended to shudder dramatically. "God help you then. What is Claire's deal anyway?"

"I don't know." Lewis shrugged. "I mean, I did meet her in a bar. She probably has more issues than I do."

"I didn't think that was possible." Nate murmured. Zane shot him a dirty look.

The three of them walked in relative silence until they arrived at the jewelry store. It was on the second floor of the mall, near the escalator, so they'd have time to run and hide if they saw Cleo, Rikki, Emma, and Bella coming. Lewis didn't mind if Will saw them, he knew Will wouldn't breathe a word. Him and Zane were still on pretty thin ice with one another. Lewis and Zane went through multiple rows of diamond rings while Nate flirted with the woman behind the desk, but Zane kept finding flaws in the rings. "Too thick," He'd say. "Ehh, too thin... This one's diamond isn't bright enough."

"I think you're just procrastinating because you're scared shitless." Lewis said when they'd reached their fifth row of rings.

Zane huffed. "Yeah, that I am. What if she says no?"

"She won't." Lewis replied. "Trust me, okay? She's gonna' say yes."

"I still don't like these rings, though. They're just, I don't know, impersonal."

"You could always have Will help you make her one."

Zane opened his mouth to protest, but then closed it promptly after a moment of thought.

"You know," He said. "That isn't too bad of an idea."

"And instead of a diamond you could use one of the crystals from the moon pool. _That'd _be personal."

"You think Will is going to go for it?"

"If I ask him, yeah." Lewis said.

Zane grinned brightly. "Well, then it looks like we've got a project to get started on."

oOo

Cleo, Emma, Rikki, and Bella end up leaving the store with three new pairs of jeans each.

"Where do you think Kim is?" Cleo asked as they regrouped at the food court. She set her bags down on a table and took the empty seat next to it.

"Who knows." Rikki shrugged. "Just text her and tell her to meet you here in like ten minutes. I could use a smoothie."

"Same here." Bella agreed, turning to Cleo and Emma. "Do you two want anything?"

"No thank you." Emma said, sitting down in front of Cleo. Once Rikki and Bella had left their table to order their smoothies Emma took her rare private moment with Cleo to make sure her best friend was alright. "Hey Cleo, are you... doing okay?"

Cleo furrowed her eyebrows. "Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"

"You seem a little distracted around Allie. I thought maybe, I don't know, you had a problem with her or something. Maybe you'd like to talk about it?"

Cleo leaned back in her seat and sighed. "It's not Allie I have a problem with."

"Go on." Emma urged.

"Its just... Me and Lewis weren't broken up, Emma! I mean, yeah, I told him I needed some space and I thought it'd be best if we saw other people for a while, but I never told him we were_ over_! And he just... he goes and sleeps with _her!_ They didn't even know each other! And guess what? He hasn't touched me! My own boyfriend! I'm just..." She groaned and hide her face in her hands. "I don't know, Emma. What happened to us?"

"I'm sorry Cleo." Emma said sympathetically. "But you can't really be mad at Lewis. You did say he could see other women, just like you could've seen other men. Why does it matter now though? You're back together."

"Because every time I look at Allison all I can think about is his _hands _all over stupid _Claire__. _I wanted us to be something more, Emma. I really thought we were going to be together forever but... Now everything feels different. I just don't know anymore."

"Just give it time, Cleo. Hopefully things will work themselves out. Lewis really does care about you, you know."

Cleo looked down at her hands. "I used to think he did, but now I just don't know."

"Cleo, you can't be serious. Do you know how many times he has risked his life for you? For all of us?"

"You've been gone a year, Em. A lot has changed, including Lewis. We _all_ have and I hate it. I just want things back to the way they used to be."

Emma reached out and squeezed Cleo's hand reassuringly. "Believe me Cleo, I do too."

* * *

**A/N:** _Yay, Zikki chapter! Sorry this one was a little shorter than the others... I've been super busy. Hope you all enjoy! What could Bella be hiding? It's not what you think, I guarantee it. ;) Next chapter: Claire makes an unexpected appearance (and Lewis's life harder), Emma gets a wonderful surprise, and Bella almost lets her secret slip to Cleo. As always, please review! xx Oh, and for any new readers of my fanfics: I don't use punctuation in text message speak, haha._


	5. Chapter 5

5.

It was strange seeing Lewis and Zane walking side by side so voluntarily, talking like old friends without a care in the world. Emma was so used to them being enemies. Hell, when she'd left the Gold Coast they were still just barely tolerating one another, but now they seemed to be just as close and her and Cleo and Rikki were. Nate was walking along side them, occasionally contributing to the conversation but for the most part scouting for women to hit on. Typical Nate.

"Where the hell have you been?" Rikki asked when the boys approached, giving Zane a partially shitty look.

"Nowhere you need to know about." Lewis said coyly, sitting down next to Cleo.

Zane grinned. "What Lewis said."

Rikki cocked an eyebrow. "What are you three up to?"

"Nothing that could possibly end well." Bella said, taking another sip of her smoothie. Next to her, Will chuckled.

"_Rude_." Lewis played. "You act like the three of us aren't totally responsible, capable individuals."

"Says the teenage father." Rikki deadpanned.

Lewis opened his mouth to respond, but promptly shut it. "It wasn't like she was planned."

"My point proven." She said, standing up to throw away her empty juice cup. Zane reached out to curl his hand around her waist and pull her back against his chest. He wrapped his arms around her midsection and rested his chin on top of her head.

"Can I help you?" Rikki asked flirtatiously. She looked up and kissed him less than chastely.

"Not yet. But there are... plans in progress. You'll see."

"Oh God." She responded.

Lewis laughed. "_Big _plans."

"Well, now it just sounds dirty."

"—you freaks are _so __disgusting._" Kim said from behind them all.

Emma turned around to look at her. Kim had a good three bags in either of her hands and a dark haired boy with freckles and green eyes stranding next to her, holding two _other _bags. Next to her, Cleo groaned.

"Where have you been Kim?!" Cleo asked, standing up. "And where'd you get all this stuff?"

"Timmy bought it for me! We met up when Abby bailed on me."

The boy—Timmy—looked down at the ground sheepishly. Emma felt bad for him, it was clear as a bell to anyone with eyes that Kim was already a gold-digger. She suddenly remembered when Elliot had a crush on Kim and Kim had nearly drained him of all his cash... Stupid Kim. Cleo was defiantly right when she called her a piece of work.

"I'm not in the mood to deal with you today, Kim." Cleo said. "C'mon, lets go."

Kim flicked her hair out of her eyes and put her hands on her hips, an irritating habit she'd picked up from their mother. "Just because you're still made your boyfriend knocked some girl that wasn't _you _up doesn't mean you can take it out on me. Don't make me tell dad."

"Kim!" Lewis said, raising his voice. Emma's head snapped to look at Lewis. She'd never heard him raise his voice before, nor had she legitimately seen him angry. It was a little intimidating. In her carrier, Allison fussed. "Out of line! _Seriously_."

But it was too late—Cleo was already making an irritated noise and stomping out of the food court. Bella was already chasing after her before Emma could even get out of her seat. A spark of jealously ignited low in her gut, but she forced it down and turned to face Kim.

"What is your problem?" She snapped.

"My problem is Cleo acting like a total _brat _because of a mistake her boyfriend made. It happened. It's over. She can get over it now. I'm sick of dealing with her."

Emma huffed. "You are so selfish, you know that?"

"I know." Kim shrugged, leaning over to give Tim a kiss on the cheek. "And I don't care. Timmy's giving me a ride home, by the way."

"Your dad isn't going to like that."

"Again, I don't care."

With that Kim turned on the balls of her heels and headed off in the opposite direction, obviously still in the mood to shop. Unbelievable, Emma thought.

"I guess I should go talk to Cleo." Lewis began, standing up and grabbing Allison's carrier.

"No." Rikki said. "Me and Emma will handle it. You're probably not the best person for her to talk to right now."

Emma grabbed her purse from the table and then her and Rikki were walking briskly off after Cleo and Bella. Whatever Zane and Lewis and Nate's apparent plan was is going to have to wait.

"Hey Will," Lewis asked. "Are you busy later?"

"I don't think so, why?"

"I'll explain on the way to my place." Lewis turned to Zane. "Think you can let the girls know I'm taking Will with me?"

"Sure thing." Zane replied.

Will got up and followed Lewis out to his car, confused and a little weary. Bella's words echoed in his ears, _nothing that could possibly end well_.

oOo

"C'mon Cleo, let us in the stall."

"No. Go away. I want to be alone."

"Too bad, we're your best friends and you're going to have to deal with it. Now let us in or we're crawling under."

Emma didn't actually have any intention of crawling on a dirty bathroom floor to get under into the large handicapped stall, she figured Rikki would be ballsy enough to do that, but the threat seemed to work well enough. A few silent moments later Cleo was cracking the stall door open, mascara running down her eyes and tears streaking down her cheeks.

"Sometimes I really hate Kim." She sniffled.

"Lewis was right, she was really out of line." Bella said, giving Cleo's hand a squeeze. "She's just being petty. Ignore her."

"But she's right! I keep telling myself I've forgiven Lewis but I haven't and it makes me feel so bad because there isn't anything to forgive! I gave him permission to see other people and he did just like I told him he could and I'm so _angry _about that and I'm taking it out on everyone including poor Allie and—"

Cleo started bawling again, sliding down the stall wall to sit on the floor and bury her head in her hands. Rikki sat down next to her and offered her some toilet paper to wipe her eyes and nose with, unsure of what to say. She wasn't good at comforting. Bella and Emma sat down next to Cleo, too.

"Am I just not good enough?" She finally asked, wiping her face with the toilet paper.

"Of course not, Cleo." Emma reassured. "You're perfect just the way you are."

"Then why'd Lewis have to go and sleep with stupid _Claire_? What is so wrong with me?"

"Why does my dad drink?" Rikki asked, looking briefly down at her hands. "To kill the pain. Sleeping with Claire doesn't mean Lewis... loves you any less, he was just looking for an outlet. Some people cut themselves, some people drink, and some people have sex with women they've know for twenty minutes. You really hurt him when you said you wanted space, Cleo. He went looking for comfort somewhere else. You can't blame him for that."

"I'm a terrible person." Cleo groaned.

"No you're not." Bella assured. "That wasn't what Rikki was getting at."

"I know what Rikki is saying." Cleo sighed. "I just never considered Lewis's feelings, I guess. I was too preoccupied with myself."

"You really need to have a serious talk to Lewis." Emma said. "Just you two. I'll watch Allison."

Cleo nodded. "I just don't want to lose him."

"I know." Emma replied, letting Cleo rest her head against her shoulder. "I don't want you to lose him either. I know how much you love him."

Cleo sniffled and nodded again, swearing she could feel the pieces of her heart dropping into her stomach like lead balls.

oOo

Allison's room was, unsurprisingly, themed in oceanic. Her walls were painted a lovely light blue and tactfully covered in realistic dolphin, whale, and tropical fish stickers, and the border of the room had little wave engravings. It was obvious the Cleo, Rikki, and Bella had helped helped design it when Claire quite literally dumped Allison on Lewis last minute. Allison's crib was built from a dark warm cherry wood, the same type as her dresser and little nightstand, and had a pink and purple jellyfish mobile hanging above it.

In short, Will thought Allison's room was absolutely beautiful. Calming, too.

"I can't get over how incredible it is in here." Will said as Lewis laid Allison in her crib. "I feel like I'm diving."

Lewis chuckled, switching Allison's mobile on. "Right? I think me and the girls did a pretty good job, given my short notice and everything."

"So, have you made up your mind yet?" Lewis asked as him and Will headed into the living room. He flicked on the television as he passed it and plopped down on the couch, exhausted but determined not to let it show.

Will sat down next to him. "I don't know... I've never made a ring before. Especially one for something so important."

"It can't be that difficult. It's just a ring. We'll google how to do itor something if we have to. At least try? For Rikki?"

"Alright." He sighed. "I'll _try_. No promises though. Do you and Zane have a design in mind?"

"The blue crystal obviously, and a silver ring. He'd like to get it engraved too, but that can be done professionally."

Will caught his bottom lip between his teeth. "Well, it certainly sounds like Rikki. I'll do my best."

"Great! Thanks." Lewis said. "You want a beer? It's been a long day."

"That sounds great." Will breathed, reaching for the remote.

"Do you wan—"

Lewis was cut off by sharp knocking on the front door of his apartment. Him and Will exchanged glances.

"I know you're home, Lewis. Let me in."

Lewis knew that voice. Goddammit. He reluctantly left his kitchenette to answer the door. "Hello Claire."

She was wearing jean shorts and a tied off _Rebel Saints _t-shirt that showed off her midriff with a pair of sandals, her black and blonde hair tied up in a messy bun. It wasn't an unusual look for her. Claire had a habit of always looking like a hot mess.

"Not going to invite me in?" She asked.

"I wasn't planning on it. What do you want?"

"To see Allison."

Lewis laughed dryly. "Since when did you want anything to do with Allison? Oh, wait. I get it. Your lawyer wants you to pretend you're a good person and an interested, involved mother so you can try and make this custody battle bullshit harder on me, right? Because we both know you don't actually care about Allison."

"Don't you _ever _presume to know how I feel!" Claire lashed back, pushing her way inside. "I want to see my goddamned daughter."

"Fine." Lewis seethed through gritted teeth. "Follow me, and don't wake her up. I just put her down."

Claire followed without a word, head held high.

Will sat awkwardly on Lewis's couch and watch whatever was playing on the telly idly. It was some documentary on life in prison, he thought. Not that it mattered. In Allison's room Claire and Lewis were quiet, something that made Will very uneasy. Fifteen or so minutes passed before Lewis was herding Claire out of their daughter's room.

"Travis and I will be in touch." Claire said sharply.

"You and your assmonkey can say or do whatever the hell you want, but I'll be damned if I let you get your greedy hands on _my daughter_."

"Enjoy Hell, then." She said before strutting out of the door, slamming it as she left.

In the other room, Allison began to cry.

oOo

"I don't feel so good."

"What's wrong Bella?" Cleo asked, touching up her mascara and eyeshadow in the bathroom mirror.

"I'm feeling sort of light headed and sick to my stomach. Do you have a candy bar or something?"

Cleo turned look Bella in the face, concerned.

"Is there something going on, Bella?"

"No! Not at all. I just haven't eaten much today." Bella said quickly. "You know what, I'll be right back."

Bella briskly excited the bathroom, leaving Cleo to dwell in her own confusion. She decided not to chase after her since Rikki was waiting right outside. Maybe she could figure out what was going on with Bella.

"What do you think that was about?" Emma asked from inside her stall. She'd had to use the bathroom.

Cleo shrugged. "I have no idea. You think Bella could be sick?"

"I don't know." Emma said. There was the sound of a flush, then Emma was coming out of her stall. "I hope she's okay, whatever is going on."

Before Cleo could respond Emma's phone began to blare loudly from her pocket. She quickly fished it out and checked the caller id. Her breath caught in her throat when she saw who it was from, that familiar name she hadn't seen on her phone's id screen in months—

_Ash. _

* * *

**A/N:** _WHOA. 18 reviews already? Thank you so much, lovely dovelys! I wasn't sure this story was any good. Do you really like it? Anyway, I'm thinking about changing up the summary a little, mostly rewording and stuff, so be on the look out for that! Coming up next chapter: Zane and Rikki spend some much needed alone time together, Cleo and Claire finally meet face to face, Bella has an accident, and Will learns the importance of protective googles. Hope to hear everyones thoughts! xx_


	6. Chapter 6

6.

"I take it that didn't go well?" Will asked, still sitting in his place on the couch.

Lewis had his forehead pressed against the door, breathing roughly through his nose and clutching the neck of his beer bottle like a lifeline. Allison was still fussing in the other room and Will was tempted to go comfort her, though at the moment it seemed as if it was Lewis who needed the comfort more. He knew Allison was safely tucked away in her crib at least, but Lewis... He looked so vulnerable, vulnerable in a way Will had never seen before—like fracturing glass in a windstorm.

Will stood up and took a few steps forward. "You okay, Lewis?"

"I don't know." Lewis replied slowly, turning around and hurling the glass beer bottle across the room. It shattered loudly against his living room wall. "I just don't _fucking_ know anymore."

Allison's cries became louder.

"You know what," Will began, putting both his hands up in a gesture of peace. "I'll go get Allie back to sleep. You just sit down and take a few deep breaths, okay? It'll be okay."

Will disappeared into Allison's room and reassured her everything was alright. He put the pacifier she'd spat out back in her mouth and switched her mobile back on. It took a few minutes of talking softly to her and letting her hold onto his fingers before she was drifting back off into sleep. Once he was positive she was asleep Will returned to the living room where he found Lewis on the couch, head cradled in his hands. His heart clenched.

Will sat down beside him. "Allison's asleep."

"Thanks." Lewis murmured. "God, I'm a terrible father. I can't do this."

"No you're not. We've all got our breaking points, Lewis. You're under a lot of stress right now. You're doing great with Allison, don't doubt yourself there."

Lewis sighed and looked up at Will's face. "You think I have a snowball's chance in Hell of winning custody?"

"Of course." Will replied. "Look, you've taken care of Allison since she was, what, two days old? Her home is here with you, and the girls, and everyone else who loves her. This is where she lives and sleeps and plays and learns... What does Claire have to offer?"

Lewis huffed. "A damn good lawyer."

"And what about your lawyer? Alex, is it?"

"Thank God for Alex is all I can say. We've got a pretty good case worked out, but I don't know... Travis is just like Claire, they've both got a silver tongue, ya' know?"

Will gave Lewis's shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "Everything is going to turn out fine. Seriously. Now, why don't you give me a little more information on this ring so we can get started on it in the morning?"

Lewis smiled softly.

oOo

"We should do something Friday."

"Hmm?"

"Friday. Just me and you. We should go out."

Rikki looked away from the massive stack of overdue bills on Zane's dest to give him a _what are you up to? _look. He just shot her a grin.

"Don't look at me like that." He continued. "C'mon. I haven't gotten to show you off in ages."

She rolled her eyes at that remark, but Zane was already pulling Rikki away from his desk, i.e the work she needed to get done, by the wrist and yanking her down on the couch with him—on his lap, more specifically.

"You are absolutely insufferable, you know that?" Rikki chuckled, crossing her arms.

Zane beamed. "It's why you love me."

"Shut up," She retorted, giving him a kiss on the mouth. "Now I seriously need to get those bills sent off. Unless you want collectors knocking on our door?"

"Can't it wait until tomorrow?" Zane groaned, burying his face in her neck and nipping at the underside of her jaw.

Rikki laughed and wrapped her arms around his neck, tangling her fingers in his mess of dark hair. "Like I said, absolutely _insufferable_."

"I'm not letting you go until you agree to go out with me Friday." He said, tightening his grip around her midsection.

"Fine." She said. "Where are we going?"

Zane gnawed on his lip, thinking. "I'm not sure yet, but somewhere romantic. I promise."

"Why do I have the feeling you're up to something?" Rikki asked coyly.

"Because I might be." He leered.

"Should I be excited or concerned?

"Maybe a bit of both."

Rikki just shook her head and pulled his head in for another kiss, this one much less innocent than the last. A voice in the back of Zane's distantly said _thank god for door locks and late night shifts. _

oOo

"Someone is in a good mood this morning." Bella commented as she approached the juice bar, noting the dopey smile Rikki was trying so hard to keep off her face. It was often Rikki was in unexceptionally good humor. Bella definitely wasn't letting this moment slip by unnoticed.

Unsurprisingly, Rikki brushed her comment off. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"C'mon, spill it." Bella urged playfully, sitting down. "Did Zane do something?"

Rikki shrugged. "I just had a really good night is all. C'mon Bella, drop it."

"Uh huh. I bet you did." She teased. "Details!"

"Zane is also taking me out Friday." Rikki said, pretending to nonchalantly go about her business. "I don't know why, but he said he has something big planned. I guess i'm a little excited, is all."

"Aww, thats so great! You'll have to keep me and Cleo updated."

"Speaking of which, where is Cleo?" Rikki asked, scanning the cafe for her friend—Cleo was nowhere in sight.

"I think she stayed with Emma last night. Emma is going to watch Allison sometime today so her and Lewis can talk."

"Ahh." Rikki said, pausing for a moment. "Don't let Cleo know I told you this, but... I just don't think her and Lewis have a chance anymore."

"What?" Bella asked, confused and a little shocked. "What do you mean?"

"I love Cleo to death, I do, but she has a tendency to blame others for her own mistakes. I really think Cleo feels like Lewis cheated on her, _which he didn't_, and I think she's excepting an apology she isn't going to get."

Bella was silent, unsure of what to say.

"Like I said," Rikki continued. "I love Cleo to death, she is my best friend, but Cleo needs to understand Lewis had every right to do what he did and if she doesn't put on her big girl panties and at least _try _to learn to love Allison like she says she loves Lewis, then their relationship isn't going to work."

Bella nodded. "I see what you mean, now. I wish there was something we could do to help."

"I know." Rikki replied. "All we can do is be there for her and—Bella? You okay?"

Bella sat silent and still as death. Rikki waved a hand in front of her face. Nothing.

"Bella? Hey? Bella?!" She asked again, panic starting to rise.

Bella slumped off her chair and fell to the ground before seizing violently.

oOo

"I can't believe he's coming back!" Emma enthused, pacing around Cleo's bed. "He's actually coming back!"

Cleo chuckled. "I'm so happy for you Emma. Do you guys plan on doing anything?"

She shrugged and sat back down on the edge of Cleo's bed. "I don't know. I just... Wow. It's been so long since I've seen Ash. What if we're like complete strangers?"

"Then you'll just have to fall in love again." Cleo sing-songed.

Emma playfully pushed her. "Shut up!" A beat of silence stretched out between them. "Speaking of love, are you planning on talking to Lewis today?"

The smile slipped slowly from Cleo's face, morphing into a tense frown. Emma hated to be the one that caused her pretty smile to slip away, but Emma had to know so she could make plans. If Cleo was going to talk to Lewis she'd watch Allison for them.

Cleo shrugged and hugged her pillow. "I don't know yet. I tried to call him this morning but he didn't answer."

"That doesn't sound like Lewis." Emma said.

"He's probably mad at me."

"Cleo, no." Emma reassured. "Lewis isn't like that. He's probably preoccupied with Allie."

"He's always preoccupied with Allie now." Cleo grumbled. "He never has any time left for me."

"Well, Allison is his new daughter, and on top of that Lewis is caught in a pretty tough custody battle. Just give things time to smooth over."

"I guess you're right." Cleo reluctantly agreed. "Sometimes I just feel—"

"Cleo honey!" Don called from downstairs, cutting her off. "You've got a visitor!"

"That's probably Rikki and Bella." Emma said.

Her and Cleo headed downstairs and, when they caught sight of who was standing in the living room, froze at the bottom of the stairs. Cleo's face was a brittle mixture of hurt and fear, and that alone told Emma just who their visitor was. Claire.

"Hello Cleo." She purred, taking a seat on the couch and crossing her long legs. "Emma. I've got some questions for you girls."

Claire patted the empty seat next to her. "C'mon now, I don't have all day. We have _so much _to talk about."

oOo

Sophie carefully dabbed the small cuts on Will's face with antibacterial soap before putting small bandaids on them. Every time she turned to grab another bandaid from the box on the bathroom sink she shot Lewis a dirty look.

"What part of _safety googles _don't you two understand? You were cutting silver, and _crystal. _Did you not think you could get hit in the face with shards?" _  
_

"In my defense—" Lewis began.

"No." Sophie said sharply. "I don't care. Whenever you two rejects decide to finish your project make sure you wear safety goggles. Will, you can't train if you're blind."

With that Sophie breezed out of the bathroom and promptly left Will's place.

Will looked over at Lewis and shrugged. "At least she's efficient."

"_I told you to put on the goddamn goggles._"

Will laughed as he stood up and headed back to his little workspace. He had a feeling it was going to be an interesting day.

* * *

**A/N**: _HOLY HOMOEROTIC BATMAN, 30 REVIEWS? YOU GUYS ARE WAY TOO GOOD TO ME. I LOVE YOU ALL SO SO MUCH. [SNUGGLES TO ALL] Okay, first things first: the switching point of view isn't confusing anyone is it? I wanted this mainly be Emma's point of view but, as you can see, it didn't turn out that way. x'D Honestly, I don't think this chapter is very good... :/ So, yeah. Sorry if it sucks. And sorry it's a little on the short side. I'm going to busy all day tomorrow and didn't know if I'd get to update or not, so I thought I'd do an update tonight! Not giving you next chapter spoilers this time. ;p Oh, except for one! Baby Allison isn't all that she seems. ;)  
As always, please please review! xx_


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N:** I DID THE BIG REVEAL TOO SOON. SORRY SORRY SORRY. HERE TAKE THIS CURRENT CHAPTER INSTEAD. [throws] It's pretty horribly written since I had to do it so quick, so please bear with me.… :/ I promise chapter eight will be much better, and uploaded tomorrow! Thanks for all the support, everyone. You guys rule. :) Keep those reviews coming! It makes me update faster. ;) …oh, and fun fact: I have epilepsy too. It sucks.

* * *

7.

Rikki had never seen anyone—let alone someone she knew—have a seizure before. Sure, she'd seen seizures happen to people on the telly, but they had been _on the telly _and not happening right in front of her, to someone she cared about nevertheless. Rikki felt absolutely terrified. A few of the cafe's patrons had rushed frantically over to help steady Bella, hold her on her side so she wouldn't choke in case she vomited, until she stopped convulsing violently. By the time Bella came to, Rikki's eyes were damp.

"Bella, oh thank God!" Rikki said, gently helping Bella into a sitting position.

Bella blinked at her, confused. "What happened?"

"You had a seizure."

"Oh." She replied, looking down at her hands guiltily. "I'm sorry I never told you."

"Told me about what?" Rikki asked. "You've had a seizure before?"

"I have epilepsy." Bella said reluctantly. "It's usually triggered by low blood sugar, which is why I've got to give myself insulin shots. I've always been diabetic, but that was easy to hide… Then I got diagnosed with epilepsy and just—" She worried her bottom lip between her teeth. "I'm sorry I've been lying to you. I was embarrassed."

"Bella," Rikki groaned. "You should have told us! We could've helped make things a little easier on you."

"I know, I know. I'm sorry."

"Stop apologizing. It's okay. Do you need to lie down?"

Bella shook her head. "No, but do you mind if I chill in Zane's office for a little while? My head hurts pretty bad."

"It's fine. C'mon, I'll help you."

After standing up Rikki extended her hand and helped Bella get to her feet, then she guided her to Zane's office and sat her down on the couch.

"If you need anything, don't try and get up okay? Text me. Or call me."

Bella nodded with a weak smile.

oOo

"What do you think Allison?" Will asked playfully, holding up the silver ring he'd just finished smoothing out with his grinder. "You think Rikki's ring is ready for it's crystal yet?"

Allison squealed from her spot in Lewis's arms and reached out for the ring, her feet kicking excitedly—one of her sandals flew off and landed on the floor as a result. Will laughed.

"I'll take that as a yes." He said, bending down to pick up her light blue sandal and slip it back on her squirmy foot.

Lewis grinned. "Look like we've got a trip to Mako to make, then. Unless you've got some extra crystal lying around."

"That I don't." Will said. "While we're out there though," He paused. "Do you think we should grab a little extra? So I can make a necklace for Emma? I don't want to seem to forward or anything but, I don't know, I get the feeling she's feeling a little left out."

"That's a great idea!" Lewis enthused, shifting Allison to his other arm. "She'll love it."

"Speaking of which," Will said. "Where is Emma today?"

"With Cleo, I'm assuming. They're probably catching up."

"They close?" Will asked.

"Ever since they were four." Lewis replied, sitting down on Will's couch. "Oof, you're getting heavy Allie."

She cooed at him.

Smiling, Will slipped the beginning of Rikki's ring into his pocket and sat down next to Lewis (they'd been working all morning, he figured, they deserved a break). Allison looked up at him with big eyes, full of all the same curiosity and wonder her father's held.

"Allison really is beautiful." Will found himself saying.

Lewis kissed the top of her head softly. "I know. I hate to admit it, but that is one thing she does get that from her mum. Claire maybe batshit insane, and too powerful for her own good, but she is drop dead gorgeous. I'll give her that."

Will furrowed his eyebrows, confused. "Powerful?"

Lewis tensed. "I—Never mind. I think someone wants you."

Allison was crawling out of Lewis's lap and making her way toward Will's. Will happily scooped her up into his arms and let her bounce in his lap, cooing and grabbing at his hair. He chuckled at the look on her face when turned his head away to sneeze.

"You're just like Bella." Lewis teased.

"Like Bella?"

"The baby thing."

"But she's _adorable_." Will said. "She acts just like you, too. You're really going to have your work cut out for you."

Lewis chuckled. "And how so?"

"Look at her. She's so… curious. Into absolutely everything. She won't even be two years old and she'll be running straight toward the shore, I hope you know that."

"Toward the shore?" Lewis asked, concern leaking into his voice.

"Come on, Lewis. It's pretty obvious the sea is in your blood, just like it's in mine. I can just… I see it in Allison. I don't know how to explain it, I just do. She's going to be an ocean soul, just like you."

Lewis swallowed thickly, gaze turning toward the window. "That's what scares me."

oOo

Cleo and Emma were perplexed. What on earth would Claire need to speak with them about about? They exchanged confused glances.

"What's this about?" Cleo asked, confused. She cautiously sat down on the couch next to Claire, careful to keep her distance. There was something about Claire that set Cleo on edge, made her feel… unsafe. Emma sat down in the armchair across from the two of them.

Claire grinned, soft and wicked, before crossing one long leg over the other. "About your boyfriend and my daughter, of course."

"Is something going on?"

"You could say that." Claire drawled, her voice more of a purr than anything. "But we'll get to that later. Right now, I'm in the middle of a custody battle for _my baby_ and I need your help. Lewis, like the hard headed manhe is, won't listen to a goddamn word I say. I need you, Cleo darling, to convince Lewis to sigh over his parental rights so I can take Allison back to Perth with me."

"Absolutely not!" Emma interjected. "Lewis loves Allison more than you'll ever be capable of. I don't know what you're up to, Claire, but it has nothing to do with your love for Allie."

Claire chuckled haughtily. "You know nothing about me, princess. I just want my daughter back."

"Then why the hell'd you dump her on Lewis when she was two days old?! Rikki told me everything, _sweetheart. _You don't deserve her back."

Cleo's jaw gaped. She'd never heard Emma lose her cool like that before—let alone curse. Emma had always been the stability in their group, the peacemaker, but right now she seemed to be just as fired up as Rikki tended to get. Claire's expression didn't change as Emma got in her face. She remained collected and cool, smiling that subtle yet feral smile.

"This isn't between us, Emma. This is between Cleo and I." Claire turned to Cleo. "Now, love, will you try and talk Lewis into giving Allison back to her mother?"

"I don't know…" Cleo said, looking down at her hands.

"Cleo!" Emma shouted.

"Ignore her." Claire continued, giving Cleo's leg a reassuring squeeze. False security, Emma knew. "Listen to me Cleo. I know you're not Allison's biggest fan. I mean, why would you be? Lewis never has any time for you anymore, it's all about the baby… If you convince him to give up his rights, Allison will get her mama back and you'll have Lewis all to yourself again."

Emma nearly shrieked. "Cleo! She is _manipulating you!_"

Cleo was silent for a moment. "She does have a point, Emma. It couldn't hurt to just… talk to Lewis about it."

Emma huffed. "Lewis loves Allison more than anything and you know it, there is nothing on this planet that could tear him away from her. If you bring up sending his only daughter back to Perth with her obviously insane mother, do you really think Lewis is going to react well?"

"I don't know!" Cleo said, guilt beginning to weigh against her heart. "Just… Give me some time to think, okay?"

Claire stood up. "We'll be in touch," She said, heading toward the door. "If you decide anything just give me a call. I left my number on your fridge."

Cleo nodded and stood up, unsure of the sour expression on Emma's face.

"Emma?" She asked.

"I can't believe you just _did that_, Cleo." Emma said harshly, turning around. "I'm going for a swim. I need to clear my head."

With those final words, Emma left Cleo to dwell in her own rapidly darkening thoughts. Cleo sighed sadly, knowing chasing Emma down wouldn't do anything except make the situation worse, and headed into the kitchen for a drink. She found Claire's numbed scrawled in cursive on a napkin, followed by a lipstick stain from where she'd kissed the napkin.

_Hope to hear from you soon, doll face. We should get mimosas! - Claire xx. _

Maybe Emma was wrong. Maybe Claire was a better person than Cleo'd originally thought.

With a soft smile, Cleo grabbed herself a glass of orange juice.

* * *

_Coming up next chapter!; Will and Lewis head to Mako Island to get the crystal for Rikki's ring and Emma's necklace, but what goes wrong? A rift between Emma and Cleo starts to form and Ash makes a surprise appearance—as do Sam and Ryan, and someone's secret gets revealed. ;P But which secret? Stay tuned! xx_


	8. Chapter 8

8.

"Did you find a sitter for Allie?" Will asked as sat his bag of tools in Lewis's boat before climbing in. Tonight was they night they'd decided to go gather the crystal for Rikki's engagement ring.

"Yeah, Zane volunteered before I even got the chance to ask him." Lewis said with a chuckle, turning the engine on. It roared to life.

"Are you sure Allie is safe with_ him_?"

"I know you two have your problems," Lewis sighed, pulling out of the harbor and heading toward the open sea. "But underneath all his issues, Zane is a pretty good guy. He'll take good care of her."

"His issues?"

"Yeah, have you met his father? Harrison Bennett? That man is half the reason I got kidnapped and locked under a boat for six hours."

Will sputtered. "What?!"

"I'll tell you later, but long story short; don't ever trust anyone named Linda. Anyway, Zane had a shitty childhood, okay? Really shitty. He pretty much raised himself. Hell, one time his own father forget him in a foreign country. Just try and cut him some slack, okay?"

"I don't think I want to know." Will said, peering up at the star spattered sky and pointedly ignoring Lewis's comment about Zane. He still wasn't ready to forgive him for being a complete ass to, well, _everyone_. The moon hung bright and heavy above them, fat and full. "So, is there a reason we waited until dark to get the crystals?"

"Element of surprise." Lewis replied easily. "The girls probably think we're at home right now."

"It's a full moon, though."

"We'll just be careful not to touch the water. I doubt anything will happen though, your sister destroyed the moon pool. The crystals will be easier to get to, yeah, but… I don't know, the magic might be gone. We're human, anyway."

Will sighed sadly. "I could kill her for that. She's so greedy." Then he muttered. "Her and Zane."

"The past is the past." Lewis said a little too sharply. "Might as well let it go."

"Do you think we could repair the moon pool? Sometime in the future, I mean."

"I don't see why not." Lewis replied. "First things first, though: we've got a ring to finish."

It took Lewis and Will a good hour to find the entrance to the moon pool, even with their torches. They ended up fumbling through thick vegetation and wading through shallow pools for a majority of the time, and when Will was just about to give up Lewis was tripping in a hole and sliding down into the entrance of the cave. Will reluctantly followed, bracing himself for the bruises he knew he'd have in the morning.

"Well, that could've gone a little smoother." Lewis commented.

Will stood up and brushed off his shorts. "You can say that again. Now c'mon, lets get those crystals and go."

Lewis got to his feet and, after carefully stepping over broken rock and thick pools of wet sand and water, helped Will gather some blue crystals and gently put them in the bag they'd brought. The crystals gleamed beautifully in the moonlight casting down through the top of the volcano.

"The ring is going to be beautiful." Will commented. "Too bad it's Zane who's giving it to Rikki." He was silent for a moment. "I'm only doing this because I know it'll make her happy, you know."

"I know." Lewis said. "But… you've not always been around, you haven't seen what they've been through. Zane really does love Rikki. They were made for each other, I think. It's like all their broken bits fit together."

Will snorted at the innuendo.

"Oh my _God_, are you thirteen?"

"Maybe."

Before Lewis could formulate a sarcastic reply the ground began to shake beneath them. They looked frantically at one another, confused and panicked, before falling to the shifting ground.

"What's going on?!" Will asked.

Lewis shook his head and tried to get to his feet. "I don't know! Earthquake?!"

Will rolled out of way as a giant chunk of rock fell from the ceiling of the cave and covered his head. He quickly got up and, bag slung over his shoulder, tried to get both him and Lewis to the exit of the cave. Before they could make it, however, the ground shifted roughly again and sent them both flying head first into moon pool. The last thing either of them felt before blacking out was sharp rock and being roughly enveloped in warm, salty water.

oOo

Cleo decided not to take up Claire's offer.

First of all, she'd never been to a club before, and second of all she'd never drank anything with alcohol in it. It wasn't that she was afraid to or anything like that, she knew she legal and she could easily stop herself after a drink or two, the opportunity just hadn't ever arisen. Claire might've been overly friendly to her, but Cleo wasn't about to let her guard down around her just yet, anyway. Instead, Cleo texted Claire and told her she was feeling a little under the weather and was going to turn in early. _  
_

_"__Aww, feel better chika! Ttyt? :) xx" _

"_Sure thing. :)_" Cleo texted back.

Laying in bed and staring up at the ceiling, Cleo mulled over what Claire had suggested and Emma's ill reaction to it. Was asking Lewis to consider giving Allison up to her mother really such a bad thing? Cleo honestly didn't think so… Even if Claire did dump a two day old newborn on Lewis without so much as a twenty minute notice. Claire must've been overwhelmed though, Cleo rationalized, some people just weren't cut out to be parents. Lewis, on the other hand, took to fatherhood like a mermaid to the sea. She'd never seen him so in love with a person before, including herself. The thought made Cleo fume.

She really didn't like Allison.

Feeling the need to vent, Cleo called Rikki. She picked up after two beeps.

"I've got Emma on the other line, Cleo. She's really fired up about something. I'll call you back later."

Before Cleo could get a word in Rikki was switching back to Emma's line and Cleo was left listening to dead air. She nearly screamed. Of course Emma would be ranting and raving to Rikki. By this time tomorrow Cleo feared she wasn't going to have any friends left.

Emma would forgive her, right?

Cleo was just about to text Emma when a message from Bella came through.

"_I have smthing to tell u. Srry I lied. ):_"

Just as concerned as she was curious, Cleo sent back: "_What is it?_"

Her phone suddenly started to ring, though much to Cleo's surprise the person on the other end of the line wasn't Bella.

oOo

Clean suit? Check. Straight tie? Check. A dozen roses in hand? Check. He was ready, Ash decided.

Taking a deep breath before knocking on the Gilbert's front door, Ash gave himself a final once-over. He had to look absolutely perfect for Emma tonight. It had been so long since he'd seen her beautiful face… God, his hands were shaking. It was like their face date all over again.

Emma opened the door and, phone clattering to the floor, shrieked. Ash didn't have a moment to react; Emma was jumping into his arms and knocking him to the ground. He laughed and embraced her.

"I take it you missed me?" He asked.

Emma grabbed his face and kissed him on the mouth. He kissed her back enthusiastically, bringing the hand that wasn't holding her roses up to lay on the back of her neck.

"I'll take that as a yes?" He asked breathlessly.

"Duh! I've missed you so much! Oh my Gosh!"

Emma was hugging him tightly again, and when Ash finally managed to pry her off, he handed her the bundle of roses he'd bought her.

"Are these for me?" She asked.

"No, they're for Elliot." Ash deadpanned. "Of course they're for you!"

"Aww, thank you." Emma replied, wetness gathering in her eyes. "I can't believe you're finally back! Come in, I've got so much to fill you in on!"

"Like what?" Ash asked as they both headed inside.

"Well," Emma began, leading him into the kitchen so she could put her roses in a vase. "There's a new mermaid now. Her name is Bella."

"Wow, really? Another one?"

"Yup. She's super nice though, a little strange but definitely nice. I think you'll like her."

Ash nodded. "Well, that's good."

"Lewis has a kid now." Emma continued. "Her name is Allison and she's four months old, total sweetheart. Lewis and her mother are in the middle of a custody battle right now, though. It's pretty messy."

"Double wow." Ash said, dumbstruck. "Why the custody battle?"

"Rikki gave me the short version: Cleo told Lewis she wanted space, Lewis went and slept with some girl, said girl moves to Perth, Cleo and Lewis get back together, nine months later girl comes back and dumps baby on Lewis. Now the girl, Claire, is back and for some reason wants custody of Allison. Oh! And the newest development in the issue? Cleo is on Claire's side. Can you believe that?! Lewis adores that little girl, and the fact Cleo would consider asking Lewis to give her up…" Emma trailed off. "Cleo and I are fighting now."

Ash wrapped his arms around Emma's midsection and pulled her in for a warm, tight embrace. She nuzzled into the crook of his neck.

"Sounds like I missed a lot." Ash commented.

Emma nodded. "I did too. I feel like a stranger now, like I can't catch up…"

"Things'll be okay. You've got me now. I'm sure in a few weeks you'll make up with Cleo and fall back into a routine and everything will start feeling normal again. Minus Lewis having a kid. I don't think I can get used to that one."

Emma chuckled. "Allison is so precious. You have to meet her."

"I can meet her tomorrow. Right now I'd like to spend some time with you."

Emma stood up on her tiptoes to kiss his mouth again. At least one good thing happened tonight.

* * *

**A/N**: _Welp! How did everyone enjoy the chapter? Sorry Sam and Ryan didn't make their appearance, I changed some things in my outline. They'll arrive soon, though! And with purpose. ;) Review, review, review my loves! Why don't you tell me who you think is on the other end of Cleo's phone? Do you trust Claire? xx_


	9. Chapter 9

9.

The voice on the other end of the phone was masculine and, surprisingly, familiar. Cleo just couldn't match said voice to a name or a face, but she knew she'd defiantly heard it before… Somewhere. The voice didn't seem to bring on any bad memories, though. At least there was that.

"Who is this?" Cleo asked.

The voice chuckles warmly. "What, you don't remember me? It's Ryan."

Realization dawned on Cleo like a baseball bat to the face. _Ryan_. He was one of Sam's coworkers, the handsome geologist Kim was obsessed with. He'd also been the one who bought her the incredibly expensive telescope and flirted endlessly with her. She really hoped he wasn't back in town, especially since Lewis was back too. She had enough problems to deal with, and Lewis being jealous was not one she needed, nor wanted.

"Oh! Ryan! Hey. It's been a while." Cleo replied, trying to keep the awkwardness out of her voice.

Ryan chuckled again. "Yeah, yeah it has. How've you been?"

"Pretty good. My boyfriend is back from the states."

A beat of silence stretched out between them. "That's good! I'm happy for you. Listen, do you have Sam's new phone number? She gave it to me a week ago and I've already lost it."

Cleo sighed, relived this wasn't a personal call. "Oh, ugh, yeah. I do. When we're done here I'll text it to you. So… how'd you get my number?"

"You gave it to me, remember?" He said. "Last time I was here?"

It took Cleo a moment to remember doing so, but sure enough it was right there in her memory; "Call me if you need any help with those samples," She's said as she darted out the door, once she'd scribbled her mobile number onto his palm. Cleo felt a pang of guilt. She'd totally been flirting with him back then, but at least that was all over now.

"Last time you were here? I'm guessing you're here now?"

"You bet!" Ryan replied excited. "I need to call Sam and let her know about some arrangements, we're onto something big, but I'm on the Gold Coast now. At a hotel, actually."

"Ooh, that's great!" Cleo lied, mentally smacking her own forehead. "I can't wait to see you again. I'll have to introduce you to Lewis."

"That your boyfriend?"

"Yeah. Things might be a little tense though. He's got a custody thing for his daughter going on at the moment. It's just… ugh. You do _not _want to know."

"That sucks." Ryan said sympathetically. "But listen, I gotta' jet. Text me Sam's number and I'll talk to you tomorrow, yeah?"

"Sounds good." Cleo replied tiredly.

"Awesome! Night."

Ryan clicked off before Cleo could respond. She groaned to herself as she texted him Sam's number—things seemed to just keep getting more and more complicated. Bella's cryptic text slipped Cleo's mind as she tried to drift off to sleep, her thoughts consumed by Ryan and Lewis's eventual meeting. Something in her gut told her it wouldn't end well.

oOo

Allison's crying woke Zane up at six o' clock in the morning—that was his first clue something was very, very wrong.

Lewis and Will had said they'd be back by nightfall when they'd dropped Allie off, before moonrise at the very latest. When Zane checked his phone and realized it was almost _morning_ he automatically went into panic mode. First off, Lewis would've never left Allison _anywhere_ for an extended period of time without her overnight beg, and secondly tonight was the full moon, Lewis had always been paranoid about the full moon—

Shit, goddamn motherfucking _shit,_ the full moon.

Laying on her Cinderella blanket in the middle of Zane's bed, a pillow on her left side so she couldn't roll off, Zane sat up quickly and gently picked Allison up. He must've fell asleep while he was playing with her earlier. While she sniffled against his shoulder, tiny hands clinging to his chest, Zane tried calling Lewis's phone. Nothing. With shaking fingers he tried Will's. Again, nothing. Something had gone wrong. It had to have. Nearly running down the stairs and fastening Allison in her carrier, Zane headed outside into the muggy night in nothing but a pair of sweatpants to put Allison in the back of his Camaro. He slid in the driver's seat, threw it into reverse, and sped off to Rikki's.

When he arrived he knocked roughly on the door. Somewhere in the trailer park, dogs barked. In her carrier, Allison fussed.

Terry answered the door. Well, that fucking figured.

"Zane?" He asked gruffly, rubbing at his eyes. "What're you doing here?"

"I need to talk to Rikki." He said quickly.

"At six in the morning?" Terry asked incredulously. He peered down at Allison. "And who's this?"

Thankfully, Rikki soon appeared behind her father.

"Dad, what's going—Zane? What's wrong?" She asked, concerned.

"Something happened to Lewis and Will. I need you to watch Allison while I go find them. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't an absolutely emergency."

Terry stepped out of the way as Rikki took the carrier from Zane, her eyes filled with worry.

"I'll be back as soon as I can." He promised, already starting to walk away. "I'll keep you updated!"

Allison continued to fuss as Zane sped away.

oOo

"I'm assuming this means we're definitely still together?"

Emma giggled and pressed another kiss to Ash's mouth before placing her head back against his bare chest, feeling warm and content and sated. "Yes."

She nuzzled into his skin, breathing in the heady scent of sweat and man, and intertwined their legs, exhaling happily; the moment felt so surreal. She wasn't a virgin anymore.

"Sooo," Ash began, running his fingers idly through her hair. "What happens when your mum comes to wake you up in the morning and finds me?"

"I locked the door." Emma said very matter-of-factly. "Besides, I'll just tell her you crashed her last night. I am an adult, you know. She can't ground me."

Ash chuckled and turned his head to press a kiss to her temple. "But your dad can still chase me out of the house with a broom."

Emma rolled her eyes. "Paranoid."

"We should go horseback riding tomorrow. On the trail." Ash suggested, somewhat suddenly.

Emma agreed. "We should! I haven't been riding since we both left. It really grew on me back then."

"Like I did?"

Emma laughed and kissed him again.

Maybe Ash had been right earlier, maybe things would start to get better. Needless to say, she fell asleep with a smile on her face.

oOo

Claire couldn't sleep.

She was too busy stewing in her own rage. Fucking _Lewis_. Why couldn't he just give her Allison and make this whole ordeal easier on everyone like any other normal teenage boy? Allison was going to start showing her powers soon and Lewis was going to teach her to be a _coward_, to repress what and _who _she was and hide herself away like he'd done to himself. She seethed and lit another cigarette, idly considering texting Cleo again. Claire knew if she could gain enough trust she could get Cleo to convince Lewis to give Allison up, or at the very least drive Cleo and Lewis apart. That way he'd be alone and relying on himself again… i.e an easier target.

Emma, though. Emma would be a definite problem.

Lewis had a tighter web of friends than Claire initially realized, and his loyalty to those girls and Allison both was stronger than she could have ever imagined. —but she was going to get that baby, _her daughter__,_ back in her custody one way or another, even if it meant she had to take some _drastic _measures.

With a smirk, Claire grabbed her phone and texted her brother.

_Hey bub, word on the street is you're comin to the coast. I need your help with a little situation. Gimme a call when you get this. Love ya. xx _

He'd have her back. He was the only one who ever had.

Claire took a final drag off her cigarette and settled into bed, ideas already formulating in her mind.

First thing in the morning, she was paying Cleo another visit.

* * *

**a/n**: _ugh, shortest chapter yet. i'm soooo so sorry you guys, i have been busier than you'd ever believe… so, super late and short update. :/ again, incredibly sorry! leave me some feedback and i promise the next chapter will be a million times better! it's the reviews that keep me updating. love you guys. xx_


	10. Chapter 10

10.

Zane doesn't remember the last time he felt this cold. He's halfway out to sea in his Zodiac in nothing but a pair of _flimsy sweatpants_, and the seawater splashing up on his bare chest and morning air wasn't exactly warm. It had been muggier out earlier, but the temperature had dropped drastically—also supernaturally so. That _really _couldn't be a good sign. Zane didn't bother anchoring the Zodiac to anything when he arrived at the island, he just shoved the Zodiac up on the shore and bailed out and off toward the jungle. He was barefoot, too. Lovely.

Zane really needed to stop doing things impulsively.

He'd at least remember to bring a torch with him so he wouldn't have to fumble through the jungle to find the entrance to the moon pool. It was when he found it, however, did Zane realize just how fucked things must've gotten. The land entrance was blocked—it had totally caved in on itself. Forcing back the urge to hyperventilate, Zane quickly sprinted back to the shore. Lewis and Will were either still in the moon pool, tapped, or they'd swam out and be on the beach _somewhere_. Lewis was a good survivalist, Zane rationalized with himself, and Will had been to more exotic places than he could count. They were alright. They had to be.

Zane decided to check the moon pool first. If Lewis and Will were on the beach they'd at least be out in the open and out of whatever had happened down there's way. With a groan, he took a deep breath and dove into the cool water. The salt gave him cottonmouth and burnt his eyes something awful, but he managed to find the entrance and swam through as quickly as he could.

Before he even surfaced, Zane could see floating bodies above him.

_Shit. Shit shit shit shit. _

He dragged Lewis and Will's unconscious bodies out of the water as quickly as he could, heart caught in his throat. The moon pool was in ruins, covered in broken rock and shards of crystal and God _knows _what else. What could've done something like this? An earthquake, maybe? At the moment, Zane didn't care. He did his best to force the panic back because he didn't know shit about First Aid or CPR or anything even vaguely in that category. He pressed his mouth to Lewis's and blew air before giving his chest a few compressions, mimicking what he'd seen on the telly, but Lewis remained silent. Zane pressed two fingers to his throat, checking for a pulse, and found only a weak on. He went back to his desperate attempt at CPR, and by some miracle, Lewis eventually began to cough water roughly out of his lungs.

Lewis gasped, blinking seawater rapidly from his eyes. He turned to Zane, confused.

"Oh, thank God." Zane said, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

"Will!" Lewis cried, crawling over to his unconscious body. Zane noticed blood smeared on the back of his head and spattered down the back of his shirt.

"Promise me you won't tell anybody what I'm about to do, Zane. Promise me." Lewis said suddenly.

"What?"

"_Just promise me, _okay_? _Swear on your life. _Rikki's _life."

"Fine, fine. I swear." Zane replied, confused as he was concerned.

Lewis crouched next to Will and placed one hand gently on Will's forehead, the other in the center of chest. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, then after a brief moment reopened them again—Zane gasped; his eyes were white. Completely _white. _No pupil, no iris, _nothing. _Just… white, like they'd rolled back into his head. Lewis pressed down with all his weight and shouted something, some word in a language Zane had never heard, sharply and Will's eyes were suddenly flying open. While Will coughed and sputtered for breath, Lewis closed his eyes for a brief moment and once again reopened them.

Zane couldn't believe it, they were normal again.

oOo

Claire was letting herself into Sertori's home at eight o' clock in the morning, or _at the asscrack of dawn_ as she so often eloquently put it. Cleo was unsurprisingly sitting at the breakfast table and eating a bowel of cereal, still in her pajamas. Claire breezed up to her without a second thought.

"Rise and shine, gorgeous! We've got a full day ahead of us."

Cleo blinked groggily at her. "What?"

"Me. You. The Mall. This whole custody thing has got us both feeling like total crap and I know you're free today. Rikki's got work, Lewis is off being a moron, and Bella… Well, I don't know about Bella, but whatever. You don't have any excuses to bail. Now c'mon, up and adam. Go put on some pants."

Cleo smiled wistfully and looked up at Claire. She was wearing a dangerously tight black and red minidress with a pair of fire engine red heels that were easily six inches, her thick black hair piled up in a messy bun atop her head—Cleo sighed internally, wishing she had the confidence to overdress and flaunt like that. "I don't know Claire. I'm just not feeling it."

"Too bad, sooo sad," Claire singsonged. "You know a new pair of shoes will make you feel better. You _know _it."

Cleo chuckled and stood up, taking her now empty bowl into the kitchen. "Fine. Give me ten minutes and I'll be back down."

"Great!" Claire enthused, ushering Cleo to the stairs. "Now hurry up, we can't be late to any sales!"

Cleo laughed as she jogged up the stairs. Claire just smiled maliciously. It seemed as thought Cleo was more gullible, more _trusting__, _than she initially thought. This was going to be a peace of goddamn cake, _and _she was going to get a new pair of shoes out of it.

Claire's smile broadened. Today was going to be great, indeed.

oOo

Rikki receives a phone call from nearly Zane two and half hours after he drops Allison off on her doorstep.

"Something bad happened at Mako," He'd said quickly, sounding breathless. "It looks like it's nearly caved in on itself. Lewis and Will are okay, they were… trapped when I found them. The land entrance is completely closed off now."

She was suspicious of what he'd been saying, because even on his best days Zane'll lie just as often as he breathes, but the genuine concern in his voice made Rikki think he was telling her at least_ some_ of the truth.

"Are Lewis and Will okay?" She asked, holding little Allison on her hip. Allison cooed and reached for the phone.

"Yeah." Zane said. "A little shaken up, but otherwise alright. I'm going to be a little late to work."

Rikki groaned but sighed in acceptance anyway. "Alright, that's fine."

"Just bring Allison with you. Lewis will take her from there." He said. In the background, Rikki heard an engine being turned off.

"Alright. See you then." She replied.

Rikki ended the phone call and fastened Allison back in her carrier so she could get dressed without having to worry about the little one getting into anything. Allison happily entertained herself with her own foot while Rikki quickly pulled on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt that she was ninety five percent sure was clean. It didn't stink, at least. Rikki couldn't help but smile at Allison as she finished getting ready. She was a cute little thing, incredibly intelligent for her young age too, but there was also something… off, about her. Whatever that _off _sense happened to be reminded Rikki pretty forcefully of the night her and Emma and Cleo were first transformed. The sense she got from Allison when she held her was something almost _magical_. In a way it worried her, because Lewis had never been the most forthcoming person about his personal life and Claire was the living equivalent of a hurricane.

Rikki had a feeling they were hiding something. She just couldn't put her finger on it.

Suddenly, the bulbs in either of Rikki's nightstand lamps blew violently out. In her carrier, Allison laughed brightly.

oOo

Bella felt horrible.

She was nauseous and tired and her head ached something awful and everything just _sucked_. Her doctor had said her new seizure medicine would probably make her feel bad for a couple of days, while her system got used to it, but bad was an understatement. Bella was pretty positive she was dying. She couldn't even check the texts coming through her phone because the light from the screen just made her head feel twenty times worse. She'd really looked forward to hanging out with Emma some more today, or Will at least, but _no_. Her stupid medication had to make her feel like death worn ever.

Laying next to her, her tabby cat Nixie meowed.

"I know, Nixie." Bella complained. "This is horrible."

She could hear her little sister laughing downstairs, probably because her mum agreed to let her help make breakfast and she'd sprayed whipped creme on her father's nose again. Bella smiled weakly to herself, happy that her family was at least having a nice morning. She'd rather be the one sick than them. She turned over in bed and pulled the covers over her head, attempting to will herself back to sleep. At least when she was asleep she could feel her head splitting migraine.

On the pillow next to her, Bella's phone continued to blow up with text messages. She considered checking them for a second—someone obviously really wanted, or needed, to get ahold of her—but the pain in her head quickly made that decision for her.

She ignored the texts.

oOo

"Ash!" Elliot called excitedly, nearly tripping over himself as he flew up the stairs to hug Ash as he headed into the living room. "When did you get back? I've missed you!"

Ash chuckled and ruffled his hair. "I've missed you too, Elliot. I got back last night and Emma let me crash in the guest room. We were catching up half the night."

"It's so good to see you, Ash." Emma's mum said, coming out of the kitchen and pulling him in for an embrace. "Will you stay for breakfast?"

"Sure thing." He grinned. It'd be a nice thing for Emma to wake up to, he thought.

Ash plopped down on the couch next to Elliot, listening to him rattle away about their travels and all the new things he'd experienced, while he turned his phone on. He nearly had to do a double take when he saw who he'd received a text message from; his sister. They hadn't spoken in, _God_, probably two years. Though, she usually only texted when she needed something. Fearing an emergency, Ash opened the text and read it;

_Hey bub, word on the street is you're comin to the coast. I need your help with a little situation. Gimme a call when you get this. Love ya. xx_

He groaned quietly to himself. What is it he's going to have to get Claire out of this time?

Ash texted back, more irritated than concerned. _Yeah, I'm on the coast. I'll call you later. At my girlfriends. _

* * *

_**a/n:** i finally hit chapter ten! aww yeah. do you like the cliffhanger? ;) anyway, you all know the drill: review, review, review! if you'd like another update. ;p i'll __probably start chapter eleven when i've hit sixty five reviews or so, i've noticed the review count is staying in the fifties and i want to make sure i'm working on a story people are actually reading. x'D i have so many others i need to work on too. ;_; _


	11. Chapter 11

11.

When Lewis, Zane, and Will came limping into the cafe looking like something the Drop Bear dragged in Rikki quickly told Sophie to take over for a few minutes and ushered them into her and Zane's office before any of the patrons got suspicious. Lewis has blood dripping down the back of his head and Will looked dazed, as though he wasn't quite sure where he was. Allison squirmed fussily in her arms, reaching for Lewis and making irritated noises. Lewis gladly took her from Rikki's arms and sat down on the couch next to Zane's desk, holding Allison close to his chest tightly—as though he was afraid she'd somehow disappear right before his eyes. Rikki could see the fear that he'd nearly lost her in his tired eyes, and at first it made something in her chest clench, because _God _did Lewis love that little girl, but then Rikki was felt her tempter start to flare because Zane had obviously lied to her. Again.

It was clear as day Will and Lewis were more than _a little shaken. _

"Alright," She said, crossing her arms across her chest. "I want answers and I want them now. Zane, you're not allowed to talk because you're obviously a pathological liar. What happened, and why were you two on Mako Island?"

"We were night diving." Will answered wearily from his seat next to Lewis.

Rikki arched an eyebrow. "Night diving? Since when do you dive, Lewis?"

Lewis shrugged. "Why not? Holding your breath for extended periods of time can be a useful skill to have."

Allison cooed at reached up to touch Lewis's face.

Rikki laughed dryly before sighing. "Alright, it's obvious I'm not getting answers out of any of you _assholes. _You don't want to tell me why you were out there? Fine. At least tell me why you're," She pointed at Lewis. "Bleeding and why you're," She pointed to Will. "So out of it."

Will blinked at her. "What?"

"Exactly. Lewis, start talking."

"There was an earthquake," Lewis began. "We were looking at the reef and everything just started… shaking, and falling apart. We were near the entrance to the moon pool so we took shelter there. It wasn't a smart decision on our part, obviously. We got thrown around a little when we got out of the water and got knocked out. Zane came to the rescue. Did you not feel anything here? I've never been in such a strong earthquake, and I lived in _California_ for six months. Earthquake central." _  
_

Rikki shook her head, starting to get angry. "No, it's been completely quiet. I just find it a little strange that everyone suddenly disappears on me, and all of a sudden you two come back looking like death worn over."

"Wait. What do you mean _everyone suddenly disappeared_?" Zane asked.

"I can't get ahold of Bella and I can't get ahold of Cleo. No one will answer their fucking phones!"

"Child in the room!" Lewis interjected. "_Language_."

"She's four months old, Lewis. And don't change the subject, do you know where Bella and Cleo are or not? I texted Emma and she said she didn't know either."

"No." Him and Zane replied in unison.

"But," Lewis added with a hefty, irritated sigh. "I think I might have an idea where Cleo might be."

oOo

"See, didn't I tell you shopping would make you feel better?"

Cleo rolled her eyes playfully. "Yeah, yeah… The two new pairs of shoes and three new tops defiantly helped. I'm starved though, wanna' hit up the food court?"

"You read my mind." Cleo replied. "I am in desperate need of pizza. Or Chinese. Or _both_."

Cleo laughed. "Yeah, because that won't make you si—"

Claire's phone began to blare loudly from her purse. She fished it out with a groan and answered it.

"_Trying to shop here._" She said rudely. "_Oh, lovely. It's you… yeah, she's with me, why?… You say that like I give a shit… Do you want to talk to her?… Wow, what an incredibly loving boyfriend you are… You're the one who said it, not me… Fine. Bye_."

Cleo cringed as Claire ended her phone call. It was obvious Lewis was the one on the other end, and now the air between her and Claire was tense. Cleo had actually forgotten her and Claire were supposed to be enemies, that Claire has _slept with her boyfriend _and they _had a child together_, but Claire was just so… fun to hang out with. She was outgoing and charismatic and had a killer sense of fashion, not to mention she wasn't afraid to speak a single word on her mind. Cleo just couldn't see why Lewis and Zane had so much animosity toward her. Maybe it was a guy thing, she guessed.

Cleo thought Claire was great.

"It was just Lewis wondering where you where." Claire said flippantly.

"Didn't he want to talk to me?" Cleo asked, feeling a little hurt. From what she gathered from the conversation, he didn't.

Claire confirmed her fears. "He said he was busy, but I heard that Rikki girl going on in the background." She shrugged. "Make of that what you will."

Cleo swallowed thickly. "You know what… Right now, I don't even care. I've had an awesome day and me and you are going to continue it."

Claire grinned, all teeth, like a goddamned _shark_. "Exactly. Chicks before dicks, am I right? Now c'mon, there is pizza and chinese food calling my name."

Cleo tried to match Claire's enthusiasm and smiled hesitantly, though it didn't quite reach her eyes. Lewis always wanted to talk to her. Why not today? And what exactly was he doing with Rikki?

oOo

Ash really dreaded calling Claire back. Now don't get him wrong, he loved his baby sister to death, but she had _such _a habit of getting herself into trouble and he was always the one left to clean up the mess. It wasn't like their parents, wherever they were now, would come swooping in to save the day. Perhaps, if things were too bad, he could give their uncle and aunt a call. They'd been the ones to raise them, after all.

"Hey Elliot?" Ash asked. "Could you be quiet for a minute? I have to call my sister. Hold onto your story, though! I wanna' hear the end."

Elliot nodded excitedly and headed into the kitchen, looking for a pre-breakfast snack.

Ash reluctantly selected Claire's name in his contacts list and pressed call. She picked up on the fifth ring.

"_Hey Clairebear, what's up?_" Ash asked. "_Yeah, it's great to hear from you too… Wait, you what?… and you didn't tell me?!… I bet it was, wow… So I'm an uncle now?… Is she sick? What's the problem?… Oh, I see. Ugh, just a second." _

Ash couldn't believe it. Claire, his Clairebear, had a _baby _now. She was a _mother_ and he was an _uncle_. -but of course, there couldn't be just a good moment in their lives, trouble always had to follow it. Apparently the baby - Allison's - father wanted custody, and Claire needed as much help as she could get in getting rights. Ash didn't know what he could do to help, the majority of his life had been spent on a ranch and he didn't know a thing about court matters, but he could at least offer her a shoulder to lean on.

Getting up, Ash headed into the kitchen.

"Hey Lisa?" He asked hesitantly.

Emma's mum turned around, spatula in hand and smile on her face. "Yes dear?"

"I hate to ask, but do you mind if my sister drops by really quick? She's going through some really tough stuff right now and said she needed to see me. I hate to just leave, but I don't want to impose either-"

"Nonsense! You could never impose, Ash." Lisa said, returning to her pancakes. "I'd love to meet your sister, anyhow. Invite her over."

Ash smiled, mouthing a_ thank you _as he returned to his phone call. "_Alright, you can go ahead and drop by. Just… be on your best behavior okay? This is my girlfriend's family. I'll text you the address… yeah yeah, I know. Love you too sis._"

As Ash headed back into the living room, Emma came sleepily down the stairs. She smiled brightly when she saw Ash and greeted him with a morning kiss.

"Good morning." She said, wrapping her arms around his neck.

He chuckled and kissed her mouth. "Good morning to you too."

"Are you staying for breakfast?" Emma asked, heading into the kitchen for a glass of orange juice.

"Yeah." He replied. "My sister is stopping by, too. She's having some issues and said she needed to talk to me, in person."

"Is everything okay?" Lisa asked.

"Yeah, it's just some court stuff."

"I didn't know you had a sister." Emma said, taking a sip from her glass.

"Can I finish my story now?" Elliot asked, eyes big.

Ash chuckled. "Yeah yeah, c'mon. Let's head back to the living room."

Emma and her mum exchanged soft smiles and Elliot dragged Ash back into the living room, chattering away.

oOo

"Are you sure you two are alright?" Zane asked once Rikki breezed angrily out of the room.

"We're fine, Zane." Lewis replied tiredly, though he was smiling. "We got the crystals."

Zane grinned brightly. "You're shitting me. In all that?"

"We got them _before _the earthquake." Will groaned. "We should probably get back to my place now, get the ring finished before tomorrow. That's when you're planning on proposing, right Zane?"

"I'm… pretty sure, yeah. Either then or sometime soon after." He replied, standing up before heading over to the couch. "Lewis, fork over the munchkin. She's being cute."

Allison cooed and reached for Zane, her little feet kicking in excitement. The lights flickered.

Zane froze. Images from earlier flickered in his mind's eye: the way Lewis's eyes rolled back in head, the foreign words that tore from his mouth, the way Will just _came back _beneath Lewis's palms… Zane rushed backward.

"Allison. She's just like you, isn't she? Whatever the hell you _are_." He said, breath quickening.

Will furrowed his eyebrows. "What are you talking about, Zane? The lights flickered, that was it."

"C'mon, let's just get to your place." Zane said to Will dryly before promptly leaving his office.

Allison frowned and then, from the other room, Zane screamed.

* * *

**a/n**: _YOU GUYS! THANK YOU SO MUCH. I AM SCREAMING. 67 REVIEWS ALREADY? Special thanks to ObsessedwReading, zikki 3, and YaleAceBella12. You guys have reviewed almost every chapter and have really kept me motivated. :) I'll be updating again once I hit 75 reviews, and if I get 85 I'll write a sequel to my clewis onceshot "Sail." A few people have asked for that. :p I'm getting started on those rare pair requests tonight, by the way. :) Buy yeah, thank you so so so much! Sorry for the lack of Bella, she'll be in the next chapter! :D Coming up: What drama do you think will unfold when Claire and Cleo show up at Emma's? Who catches who cheating? And what happened to Zane? Stay tuned! xx_


	12. Chapter 12

12.

"Hey baby, how're you feeling?"

Bella shrugged absently at her mum as she trudged into the kitchen, desperate for some aspirin and a glass of water. Apparently _another_ side affect of her new medication was extreme thirst. God, she hated this. It was nearly three o' clock in the afternoon and she was just getting out of bed - she hated sleeping in past _ten_. _  
_

"Better than last night." She answered, squinting in the afternoon light. It hurt her head. "I think I might actually be able to leave the house today."

Brooke smiled and gave her daughter a reassuring kiss on the forehead. "That's great, sweetheart! Just try and take it easy, okay?"

Bella gave her mum a weak smile and nodded. "I will, mama. Don't worry."

"That's my girl." Brooke replied. "Do you need anything from town? I need to go pick up a few things."

"No, I'm good." Bella said, pulling her phone out of her back pocket. She'd just received anothertext.

_Hey Bella, it's Emma. I need your help. Cleo has lost her mind. Get to my house as soon as you can. I'll text you my address. _

Confused, Bella knitted her eyebrows together and reread the text twice before another came through. As promised, they were directions to Emma's house. What did Emma mean by "Cleo had lost her mind"? Bella didn't spend any time contemplating it. Instead she rushed out the door before her mother could ask her what was up, hoping whatever was going on at Emma's didn't come to head before she could get there.

oOo

"You've _got _to be kidding me."

They were the first words out of Claire's mouth when she caught sight of her brother eating with Emma and her family at their kitchen table. Her and Cleo stood next to the couch, arms crossed their chests like disciplinary parents (Ha! The irony wasn't lost on Emma), glaring Ash down as though he'd kicked a puppy. Well, Claire was glaring. Cleo was just standing next to her, trying to match her overwhelming presence - it came off as more of a cower than anything.

"Excuse me?" Lisa asked.

Claire huffed. "You know, I should've figured. I'm assuming you'll be taking your little girlfriend's side in this?"

Emma stood up, nostrils flaring. "What are _you two _doing here?"

"I'm here _with my best friend _to see my brother." Claire said, annunciating the phrase _with my best friend. _Not that she actually liked Cleo, but getting her away from her other friends was the first step in getting in her away from Lewis, and getting her away from Lewis was another step closer to getting Lewis isolated - and more importantly, single. With no support system for him or Allison, his case would be that much weaker - and there wasn't a damn thing that lawyer of his could say to get around the sudden disappearance of all his friends _and _his girlfriend. He definitely wouldn't be coming off as good father material then, and Claire would be assigned custody. Judges were usually more lenient toward single mothers instead of single fathers, anyway.

"Brother?" Emma asked, not quite digesting the information. It couldn't be...

"Yeah. Ash Dove. Claire Dove. Ring any bells?"

Emma shot Ash the dirtiest look she could manage.

"What's going on here?" Lisa asked.

"I'll tell you." Claire said. "I'm fighting for custody of _my daughter_, and Emma is doing everything in her power to stop me. I call my brother for help and, low and behold, I find out he's sleeping with the enemy."

"Emma!?" Lisa asked again, feeling completely lost in the situation.

"Lewis has been a better parent to Allison then you could ever be!" Emma said, raising her voice and, for the first time in her life, ignoring her mother. "He _loves _that little girl. You _dumped her _on him when she was _two days old _and disappeared. You didn't even _name _her! Lewis had to! What kind of mother does that?! Allie has people that _love her _here. Her _home _is here, and I'll be _damned _if I let you tear her away from all this!"

Ash felt like he'd fallen down the goddamn rabbit hole.

"Whoa, wait." Ash said, scooting his chair back. "Lewis?"

Everything was suddenly clicking in Ash's head. What Emma had told him about Lewis and his custody battle, Claire texting him out of the blue and informing him she needed help getting custody her new baby… He just hadn't put two and together and _oh - _Lewis is so, so dead when all of this is over.

"I told you about this!" Emma said.

Ash stood up, his own voice raising out of shock, more than anything. "You didn't tell me he knocked up my sister!"

"I didn't know you _had _a sister!"

"I don't have time for this shit." Claire said loudly. "Ash, are you helping me get my kid back or not?"

Ash exchanged glances between between Emma and Claire, heart dropping into his stomach.

"Clairebear, I love you. I do. But…" He sighed. "I just don't think you could handle full custody of a baby. Partial? Yes. Not full."

Claire absolutely _seethed_. "What?!"

Ash sighed again, deeper this time. He knew the way Claire was: she wasn't just a woman, she was a storm with skin. Hell, she wasn't even human. Ash had always been thankful the little _witch gene _in their family had skipped him, but he often wished him and Claire could switch places. Claire was dangerous enough without supernatural power, and the fact she possessed it? It truly made her a force to be reckoned with. Claire moved around _a lot, _too. She couldn't take settling. She had a bone deep wanderlust and reckless crave for adventure that made her an incredibly unsuitable parent. Lewis, on the other hand? Ash _knew _how Lewis was and knew Allison was in good hands with him. He hated going against his sister, he really did, but he had to think about Allison and how this situation would affect her. _  
_

"Look, Allison is going to need a stable home, Claire. You move around a lot, get into fights… How many times have I bailed you out of jail for assault? I know Lewis, okay? He'll be a great father to Allison, I promise. But-"

"No." Claire said sharply. "This isn't over. C'mon, Cleo. Let's go."

Emma didn't miss the way Cleo looked sadly over her shoulder as her and Claire headed for the door, but before they could get out of the door Bella came running in. Claire shoved her roughly out of the way and continued on her warpath. Cleo bit her lip and followed silently.

She hoped siding with Claire to get Lewis back was worth the strain it was putting on her friendships.

oOo

For a moment, Zane thought he'd been shot.

The pain that exploded in his ribcage was sharp and white-hot, completely sudden and unlike anything he'd ever felt before. Something like a scream tore itself from his mouth as he stumbled and grabbed on to the nearest table, vision blurring. Rikki was at his side in a matter of seconds, hands on his face and hands fluttering around where he was clutching at his chest.

"Zane?" He heard her ask. "Zane? Baby, what is it?"

He gulped desperately for air and tried to hold onto Rikki with shaking hands, the pain radiating outward from his chest down to his thighs. Wetness sprung to his eyes - a bodily reaction, he told himself.

"Zane, before you freak out -"

That was Lewis's voice behind him.

Zane turned on the balls of his heels and stumbled backward, panting with wide eyes as the pain continued to tear through him. A few of the cafe's patrons began to look their way now, confused.

"You keep her away from me. _Both of you_, just - just stay away."

"She didn't mean it, Zane. She doesn't even know what she did! She just reacted to the sudden change in your mood."

"Is someone going to tell me what's going on?" Rikki interjected, helping Zane sit in the chair he'd been supporting himself with.

"Take Allie." Lewis said, handing her to Will before squatting down in from of Zane. He was thankful Rikki's body was blocking whatever prying eyes were looking their way.

"Don't you touch me." Zane said through gritted teeth. "I am so _sick _of this magic supernatural shit I could _scream__." _

Lewis slipped his hand up Zane's shirt and pressed his palm just beneath his ribcage. He closed his eyes, muttered something rapidly beneath his breath, and pressed hard against Zane's skin. Zane made a noise somewhere between a gasp and a squeak - but suddenly the pain was gone, as thought it'd never been there at all. Zane exhaled in relief and slumped in his chair.

"Is someone going to _fill me in?!__" _Rikki asked again, aggravation rising. She hated being left out of the loop.

Will was silent as he handed Allie back to Lewis. Allison looked at Zane with Lewis's eyes and touched his face, her warm little palm hardly a weight against his cheek. Zane flinched under her touch but, somehow, seemed to understand. _I'm sorry. _

God, his life was fucking weird.

"What _are _you?" Zane asked.

Lewis swallowed around the knot in his throat. So much for _his _secrets. He opened his mouth, about to speak, when Rikki cut him off.

"Ugh, I think something is going down at Emma's. She just texted me _get here now. _You're coming with me Lewis, you've got some major explaining to do. Will, make sure Zane is alright. I'll be back as soon as I can."

* * *

**A/N**: _Ahhh, sorry for the short and incredibly horrible chapter. ;-; I've been swamped these past few days… but I'm back now! So as always; leave your thoughts! How do you think Ash is going to react to meeting his niece for the first time? And how are Emma and Bella getting along in Claire's aftermath? Is Cleo's jealously for Lewis's attention worth siding with Claire? Stay tuned! Oh, and I'm working on a "Sail" update since this bad boy hit 85 reviews. :D You'll get chapter 13 once I'm up to 95 reviews, and if I get 100 you'll all get a big surprise. :DDD xx_


	13. Chapter 13

13.

"I can't _believe _you never told us." Rikki seethed, slamming the door to Lewis's car as she stepped out.

"It was never any of your business." He replied, getting Allison out of her carrier. There was no point in packing it inside when Lewis knew he was just going to get her out and hold her close to his chest the entire time. If Claire was still inside… Lewis was prepared to fight for Allison, ready to pull all the magic and power he'd repressed since he was thirteen to the surface and _fight_. He was letting his control slip now, slowly letting the magic slip back into his veins, his blood - Lewis felt positively alive with it, like he could bring down an entire building with a thought. Though, in retrospect, he probably could with all the pent up anger he found himself harboring for Claire. Allison must've sensed it because she pressed her tiny palms to his cheek and _stared__, _big blue eyes full of something Lewis couldn't quite put his finger on. It had been so long since Lewis truly accepted what he was.

Rikki bristled at that. "None of our _business__? _We told you about being mermaids, pretty sure that warrants a little honesty in return."

"You didn't _tell _me anything." Lewis countered hotly. "I had to _rescue_ Cleo when she _exposed herself _at a party. I was _pulled_ into your secret." He paused, leaning his head into Allison's comforting little touch. "My secrets and my past have always been my own, there was no point in bringing them up. …and then Claire happened and everything went to shit."

Standing on Emma's front steps, Lewis closed his eyes. Remembering. "From the moment I felt her hand on my shoulder… All of my power just rushed to the surface before I could stop it. For a second I felt absolutely _invincible__. _We started a fire in the bar. Literally. I turned, looked at her face, she said 'Looks like I'm not the only witch here tonight' and the bar stool next to us just burst into flames. And for the first time, I felt **powerful_._ **After feeling so _helpless _because of what Cleo said…" _  
_

Lewis stopped talking after that.

_We destroyed the hotel room. We blew out all the lights. The Telly. Burnt handprints in the sheets and carpet. Shattered the bathroom mirror. Clawed and bit at each other until we were nothing but bloody backs and swollen lips and black magic. We were powerful. We were iron and titanium. _

With a shuddering breath he let himself and Rikki into Emma's house.

Ash - _Ash was back too?!_ - was pacing in the kitchen while Emma and Bella and, surprisingly, Lisa and Elliot sat at the kitchen table. There was a suffocating tension in the air, thick and heavy and foreboding. Allison made a frightened noise. Lewis held her tighter.

"Finally." Emma said. "It's official now. Cleo has gone completely out of her mind."

Rikki knitted her eyebrows together. "What's going on?"

"That's what I've been trying to figure out." Lisa said distantly.

"Ash?" Lewis asked. "What're you doing ba-"

"Is that her?" Ash asked sharply, looking at Emma. "My niece?"

Emma nodded.

"_Niece?_" Lewis asked.

"Claire's my sister." Ash said. "Who you knocked up, by the way. I'm still deciding whether or not I'm letting you keep your dick."

"Ash!" Emma chastised. "Children. In the room. And my mother."

Ash exhaled through his nose, irritated. "You have no idea what you're dealing with Lewis. _No idea._"

"Witches!" Elliot says. "Claire's an actual witch!"

Lisa remains relatively silent, still trying to process the information Ash had given her just minutes prior.

"Lewis is a witch too." Rikki says. "He's just been lying to us for the last three years."

"I didn't _lie _about anything! I just know how to keep a secret."

Ash blinks. "You - you're a witch. Like my sister."

"Yeah. Before my mum died... She was a Supreme. After the accident, I thought if I repressed my power long enough it'd just… go away. I don't want it. Not after what happened."

"You should know it doesn't work like that, Lewis." Ash bit out. "The moment Claire realizes you're the next Supreme-"

"No! No, I'm not. I refuse."

"You can't refuse! That's like me saying I refuse to human! It's what you _are_." Ash's voice was raised now and he was stepping out of the kitchen, toward Lewis. "What's your power?"

Lewis swallowed thickly. "Resurgence, mainly. Telekinesis. Pyrokinesis. Necromancy."

"And Allison's?"

"I don't know yet. The lights flicker when she gets excited, or upset. That's about it."

"No." Rikki said harshly. "No, she _did something_ to Zane. At the cafe. He was in so much pain he was in tears."

"What?" Bella asked. She felt so overwhelmed. By her disease, by the force that was Claire, Cleo's sudden allegiance to Claire, and now the fact _witches _were real… Her head began to hurt again.

"She didn't know what she was doing! For God's sakes, Rikki, she's not even six months old."

"I can't believe this." Lisa muttered absently. "I can't… Witches. I mean, what else is out there?"

Emma thought briefly about telling her mother about the whole mermaid ordeal, but soon decided against it. Lisa was overwhelmed as it was. That secret could wait until another day. Another lifetime, perhaps.

"You don't want to know." Lewis said. "Listen Lisa, do you and Elliot mind giving us some privacy?"

She nodded. "Yeah. C'mon Elliot. Let's go for a walk."

Elliot nodded and followed his dazed mother to the door. Once they were gone, Emma was the first to speak.

"So. Cleo is apparently BFFs with Claire now. Any ideas how to fix that?"

Rikki crossed her arms across her chest. "What do you mean?"

"Claire and Cleo came marching in here, made a scene, _shoved me_, which Cleo didn't say a word against by the way, and then stomped out when Ash wouldn't side with her." Bella replied.

Lewis furrowed his eyebrows together. "You're with me?"

Ash sighed. "I love my sister, but she's not mother material. She can hardly take care of herself. At least with you, I know Allison will have a good life. A _stable _life. But Claire… you don't know her, okay? She'll hurt you, Lewis. Especially if she knows you're the next Supreme."

"I can't be considered a Supreme unless I go before a coven leader. I don't intend to. In fact, I doubt there are any coven leaders left."

"_It doesn't matter, _you've still got the power. That's all Claire cares about."

"I think step number one is separating her and Cleo." Lewis said. "I don't want Cleo getting hurt because of this."

"It's a little too late for that." Rikki deadpanned.

Lewis opened his mouth to retaliate, but Bella suddenly cut him off.

"Wait! I think I have an idea how to get Cleo away from Claire. It's not going to be easy, but I think we can do it."

Emma exhaled a small sigh of relief. "We're all ears."

oOo

"Are you... feeling any better?" Will asked awkwardly.

Zane looked up at him, his pupils blown wide from the ebbing pain. "I'll be fine."

"That's not what I asked."

"Why do you care?" Zane bit out.

Will was silent for a moment, contemplating his next words. He didn't need Zane lashing out at him like an injured animal.

"Because you plan on marrying my best friend. It's kind of obvious we're going to be seeing a lot of each other now, therefore we need to learn to take care of each other whether we like it or not. For Rikki."

"I haven't even asked her yet."

"But you're going to, and she's going to say yes."

Zane groaned. "God, you're starting to sound like Lewis."

"That's because we're not pessimistic about everything like you are."

Zane didn't say anything.

"She's going to say yes, okay? I know Rikki. Really well. She loves you more than you think." Will paused. "The ring is almost ready, too. I just need to finish polishing the crystal and attach it to the band. Then you can get it engraved with whatever and you'll be golden."

"Thank you." Zane said hesitantly, though there was a distant warmth in his voice that told Will it was genuine.

He smiled.

oOo

"Did you really have to shove Bella?" Cleo asked, feeling guilty she hadn't stood up for her friend.

"She was in my way." Claire replied nonchalantly, flicking on her turn signal. "Why do you care?"

"Well, she's still my friend… Even if we don't see things in the same light."

"You need to understand something Cleo. People are either with you, or against you. There is no in-between."

"There can be."

Claire laughed sharply. "No, sweetheart. There can't be."

Cleo was silent.

"I don't get you." Claire continued. "You're just like Lewis. I can see why he'd go for a girl like you. Always keeping each other guessing. Although, between us, I think he has a thing for inhumanity."

Cleo's blood ran cold. "Excuse me?"

"You don't really believe I think your human, do you? I've sensed it ever since we met. I'm a _witch_, what did you expect?"

Cleo couldn't keep the shriek out of her voice. "A what?!"

"A witch, darling. Just like Lewis. And our daughter. I don't know what you are, but it isn't one of us and it isn't human. I'm sure I'll find out, though."

"Let me out of the car!" Cleo demanded, reaching for the handle. If she had to leap out of a moving vehicle, then so be it. The were at a stoplight ring now, anyway.

Claire locked the doors. "I don't think so, sweetheart. You're coming with me."

* * *

**A/N**: _SORRY FOR THE SUPER LATE UPDATE HOLY SHIT. My friend was in a car accident so I've been preoccupied with that. :/ I know this chapter is pretty horrible (I probably sound like a broken record now, heh) but the next update will be better and longer, promise! I rushed this so you guys could have something, at least. Uggh, I don't deserve you wonderful readers. [/hugs] Next update at 125 reviews. :) Oh! And I threw a little AHS terminology in there because I got lazy, haha. Anyway, I'll probably put up a poll soon: what pairing to do you want to be the main for your big surprise? _


End file.
